Homes, condos and land for sale and rent in Canyon Lake, CA

In 1882 the California Southern Railroad built a line from Perris to Elsinore along the east side of the San Jacinto River. The Santa Fe Railroad bought the line and joined it with their line in San Bernardino. Floods in 1884, 1916, and 1927 washed out the tracks, and the Santa Fe Railroad decided to abandon the line. Soon after the last flood the Temescal Water Company bought the railroad right-of-way, as well as 1,000 acres (400 ha) from Henry Evans, a rancher, and other land from B.T. Kuert. Those were the two parcels that make up most of Canyon Lake today.
Construction started in 1927 to build a dam across the river to store water. It was finished in 1929. Railroad Canyon Reservoir, when built, was one of the largest fresh water lakes for fishing, hunting and camping in Southern California. The reservoir and the surrounding area was leased as a concession from Temescal Water Company as a recreational area under the operation of the George D. Evans family from 1937 until after World War II. After the war Ray and Alpha Schekel, along with John and Darleen Kirkland, operated the resort until 1949 when the lake was drained for repairs to the floodgates. Elinor and Donald Martin operated the resort from its reopening in 1953 until 1968.
In 1968 the Corona Land Development Company developed the new community.

The affluent city of Canyon Lake is located east of Lake Elsinore and Interstate 15, in the southern foothills of the Temescal Mountains. The mountain range is on the western edge of the Perris Block and east of the Elsinore Fault Zone.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.7 square miles (12 km2) or 2,017 acres (816 ha), of which, 3.9 square miles (10 km2) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2) of it (15.92%) is water. The lake has 14.9 miles (24.0 km) of shoreline.

The 2010 United States Census reported that Canyon Lake had a population of 10,561. The population density was 2,260.8 people per square mile (872.9/km²). The racial makeup of Canyon Lake was 9,495 (89.9%) White (81.7% Non-Hispanic White), 128 (1.2%) Black or African American, 61 (0.6%) Native American, 190 (1.8%) Asian American, 36 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 316 (3.0%) from other races, and 335 (3.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,303 persons (12.3%).

The Census reported that 10,552 people (99.9% of the population) lived in households, 9 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 3,935 households, out of which 1,298 (33.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 2,510 (63.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 341 (8.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 202 (5.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 214 (5.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 27 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 658 households (16.7%) were made up of individuals and 311 (7.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68. There were 3,053 families (77.6% of all households); the average family size was 2.99.

The population was spread out with 2,287 people (21.7%) under the age of 18, 835 people (7.9%) aged 18 to 24, 2,304 people (21.8%) aged 25 to 44, 3,332 people (31.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,803 people (17.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.0 years. For every 100 females there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.0 males.
There were 4,532 housing units at an average density of 970.2 per square mile (374.6/km²), of which 3,245 (82.5%) were owner-occupied, and 690 (17.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.1%. 8,443 people (79.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 2,109 people (20.0%) lived in rental housing units.
According to the 2010 United States Census, Canyon Lake had a median household income of $74,133, with 5.4% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

The community is named for Canyon Lake reservoir, also known as the Railroad Canyon Reservoir, which it surrounds. The reservoir, created in 1928 with the construction of the Railroad Canyon Dam, covers approximately 525 acres (212 ha), has 14.9 miles (24.0 km) of shoreline, and has a storage capacity of 11,586 acre·ft (14,291,000 m3).[11] It is owned and operated by the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District.
The reservoir is supplied by storm water runoff from the San Jacinto River and Salt Creek. Water from the reservoir feeds the Canyon Lake Water Treatment Plant, which provides approximately 10% of the domestic water supply in the Lake Elsinore/Canyon Lake area.

There are three business or shopping areas within the City of Canyon Lake. One is located at the west end of the city on Railroad Canyon Road, and another at the east end of the city on Goetz Road. The main shopping and business center of the city, Canyon Lake Towne Center, is located directly across Railroad Canyon Road from the Main (south) entrance gates. It provides Canyon Lake with many services, and is the location of Canyon Lake City Hall, a county sheriff’s satellite station, a Riverside County branch library, and the Property Owner’s Association offices, which are all located side by side in the same building. Another building in the Towne Center mall houses the Canyon Lake Chamber of Commerce.