Wide Open Spaces with Trees and Rivers

[MamaE]

I wrote this in another thread (it does refer to the Temecula area)

I'm 28 years old and have lived in Temecula/Murrieta nearly all my life and remember my parents discussing the first stop light going up.

For those of you from the PACNW, it is very different as far as scenery goes. The "cookie cutter" homes/neighborhoods comments are spot on. This area is also like a concrete jungle. Sure, there are a lot of parks but hardly any real "nature" with in the city. You go from homes, to restaurants, to homes, to shopping, etc. Sure, there's the Santa Rosa Plateau but it takes at least 30-45 mins to get there from most other neighborhoods in the city. And, that's about as extensive as it gets as far as nature is concerned. We don't have wooded areas to walk/explore/hike freely and almost all the trees are trees that have been planted. The city was not built around the area's natural landscape, which to me makes the town hideous.

If you want your children to have access to nature on a regular basis, prepare to pack up for all-day trips to get to the mountains, beaches and deserts!

There is a book I recently checked out called "easy hiking in southern california".

Gives a lot of places that are easy hikes. You can also come down this way and check out the Santa Rosa Plateau. There are a lot of trailheads as well as vernal pools (seasonal). The thing is that with most all areas is that it is summer and the heat brings out the rattlesnakes! So, you need to be prepared for that. You can check out some coastal areas and hiking there like dana pointe and torrey pines... but those are in SD so a bit far. Not too sure what is in the LA area afa the coast is concerned.

[AnthonyJ34]

Originally Posted by Gandalara

Try Lake Hemet up by Idyllwild.

Attachment 64319

Nice shot! Good ol' Lake Hemet -- I've been going there since I was a kid! Many wonderful memories fishing and camping at the lake.

Did you know that parts of several episodes of the 1980s TV show "Airwolf" were filmed at the lake? Also, some of the opening shots of the western tv show "Bonanza" were filmed in Garner Valley (right across from the lake). Just a bit of useless trivia!

[Kevin85084]

Lake Mathews is a rural community about 30 miles from RC with very little tract housing and on Cajalco Rd you get a nice view of the lake and the mountains. It’s a really nice drive, I usually pass by when I’m going from Riverside to Corona. The lake itself is closed to the public because it’s a resovoir but I believe there’s a hiking trail called Hartford Springs and I’m sure there are a lot more but I’m not too familiar with them. Definitely worth checking out.

[AnthonyJ34]

Originally Posted by Kevin85084

Lake Mathews is a rural community about 30 miles from RC with very little tract housing and on Cajalco Rd you get a nice view of the lake and the mountains. It’s a really nice drive, I usually pass by when I’m going from Riverside to Corona. The lake itself is closed to the public because it’s a resovoir but I believe there’s a hiking trail called Hartford Springs and I’m sure there are a lot more but I’m not too familiar with them. Definitely worth checking out.

That's a pretty area!

I have never actually been to the Lake Mathews area, but I do know where it is located. I remember driving through the little town of Woodcrest several times (which is not too far away from there). Coming from Cerritos (where I live), I used to travel to Lake Hemet/Idyllwild via the 91fwy and Van Buren Blvd.

I used to like the Inland Empire much more before it started to become so developed and overrun with tract homes and shopping malls. Every year it's becoming less and less rural and more and more urbanized. The San Jacinto Valley is one of the last areas to still have large swaths of undeveloped land in So. Cal, but even that area is slowly morphing into a urban setting.