Lake Forest is located between Irvine and Mission Viejo. The community of El Toro merged into Lake Forest and it then incorporated in 1991 as the newest city in Orange County, with a population of about 60,000. Approximately 2400 homes were first built in the 1960's, with another 10,000 built in the 70's. In the 80's, another 9000 residential units were constructed. The building continues, and outside the city limits, up-scale new subdivisions are being constructed along with a large shopping mall. Available homes and condos are mostly one and two story models priced between $80,000 and $500,000, with underground utilities and walls surrounding the tracts to buffer residential streets from arterial traffic. To the north, some streets rise into gentle hills that afford views of the countryside and the Santa Ana mountains. The Lakes subdivision is built around a lake and offers waterfront and off-water homes with lake privileges for sailing, fishing and paddle-boating.
The Foothill Transportation Corridor, a toll road, opened in 1993 and is located just north of the city. This affords a means to avoid the freeways during peak traffic periods. The city is close to UC Irvine, beaches, movies performing arts center and top restaurants.
