Lake Perris
Located 11 miles south of Riverside in northwestern Riverside County, the Lake Perris State Recreation Area (SRA) is an 8,800 acre playground that has something for everyone...including the 2,200 acre Lake Perris, formed by Perris Dam. Lake Perris is the southernmost reservoir of the SWP (State Water Project) and provides water supply, fish and wildlife enhancement, and recreation. It is one of the most popular recreational lakes in the SWP system.
The predominant plant community, coastal sage scrub, is host to a variety of birds and wildlife. More than a hundred different species of birds have been spotted at Lake Perris, some migratory and some permanent residents. Larks, loggerhead shrikes, roadrunners, California thrashers, quail, wrens, sparrows, hummingbirds, golden eagles, several varieties of hawks, ospreys, and even bald eagles may be seen. In addition, many varieties of waterfowl can be spotted, including pintails, widgeons, teals, mallards, shovelers, various geese, and sometimes whistling swans and pelicans. Also, blacknecked stilts, avocets, killdeer, willets, kingfishers, egrets, and herons can sometimes be seen near the water's edge.
Mule deer, bobcats, coyotes and badgers are some of the mammals that may be seen, and the area is also home to a wide variety of lizards and rodents...and rattlesnakes. Please take care when hiking!
Activities within the park include (deep breath here):
• Hiking, biking, and horseback trails
• How about a picnic? Ramadas, tables, grills, and restrooms (wheelchair accessible) are located at Moreno and Perris Beaches and at the Bernasconi area. Pepper, eucalyptus, cypress, palm, and pine trees have been planted for shade; playground equipment and large grassy areas are also available.
• Fishing (shore, pier and boat) for rainbow trout, catfish, Florida bluegill and Alabama spotted bass
• Boating (sail and power boats, rentals available)
• Swimming, jet skiing, waterskiing, scuba diving and windsurfing
• Even rock climbing!
• In addition (yes, there's more!), Lake Perris SRA is home to the Ya'i Heki' (Home of the Wind) Regional Indian Museum which focuses on life in the Mojave Desert region as experienced by the Cahuilla, Chemehuevi, Cupeno, Luiseno, Serrano and Vanyume tribes.
• And to get an interesting perspective of the lake, visitors can head over to Alessandro Island, rising 225 feet above the surface of Lake Perris. The island is a day-use, boat-in-only area and has picnic tables and cooking grills.
How does all that sound, caravaners?
Want more?
Okay, how's this...all LDCC campsites will have water, electricity and gray water disposal, in addition to a table and a grill. And there are showers and a dump station. All this for just $12.00 per night!
Very Important Request: Please save sites 192, 194, 196, 198, 200 and 202 for the wagonmasters and host tent/coffee area. Your cooperation is very appreciated!
And finally, be sure to bring ALL your various leveling boards...
the asphalt is, shall we say, a wee bit uneven.
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Lake Perris and Alessandro Island
For more information on the flora and fauna of Lake Perris, click here. And for more info on issues related to the level of the lake (along with some terrific photos of the lake), click here. |
PLEASE NOTE: All mileages are approximate and begin from the intersection of Moreno Beach Drive and the road that goes into the campground. Click here for a map showing this intersection marked with an x).
Moreno Valley Community Hospital (2.8 miles from the campground entrance)
27300 Iris Avenue
Moreno Valley, CA
909-243-0811
Rite Aid (6.6 miles)
24991 Alessandro Boulevard
Moreno Valley, CA
909-485-4450
Perris Valley Veterinary Clinic (5.8 miles)
2560 North Perris Boulevard # F8
Perris, CA
909-657-8389
Albertson's (6.6 miles)
25050 Alessandro Boulevard
Moreno Valley, CA
909-924-7742
Texaco (4 miles)
4039 North Perris Boulevard
Perris, CA
909-657-4087
Shell (5.5 miles)
15980 Perris Boulevard
Moreno Valley, CA
909-485-2425
Starbucks (9 miles)
1688 North Perris Boulevard
Perris, CA
909-943-9025
Yes, Virginia, there really IS a Starbucks!
Okay, I know that was rather corny, but it's not very often that I get to share with you the wonderful news (at least to your webmaster) that there is a Starbucks near the caravan campground.
As for Krispy Kreme...what's a Krispy Kreme? (My doctor has brainwashed me!)
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For All You Weather Buffs... |
Thanks to the wonderful world of technology - and our weatherman Steve Tivy - click here for the current conditions and forecast for Lake Perris. |
If you're interested in local news for Perris, we offer the following:
the Press-Enterprise, a leading provider of news and information for Inland Southern California
and Topix.net, which offers local news for Perris, continually updated from thousands of sources on the web.
Today's (Very Brief) History Lesson: Perris, California
The area surrounding and encompassing what we now know as Perris Valley was once home to various tribes of Native Americans (culture buffs will love the Ya'i Heki' Regional Indian Museum located right at Lake Perris SRA). Then Spanish and Mexican miners discovered gold deposits in the hills surrounding the valley. The gold mines soon expanded to include tin and coal. But what really contributed to the growth of Perris Valley was the railroad.
In 1881, the California Southern Railroad decided to lay their tracks through the valley. A young British man by the name of Frederick Thomas Perris was in charge of surveying and constructing the route. When the route was completed in 1882, settlers began flocking to the valley.
By 1885, these same folks began discussing the feasibility of a creating a town. Land for the townsite was purchased from the Southern Pacific Railroad and Fred Perris returned to the valley to help. The future citizens of this new town offered to erect a depot, dig a well, and donate a number of lots to the railroad in exchange for establishing a station in the new town.
Perris, named in honor of the surveyor who contributed to its construction, was officially designated as a stop on the Transcontinental Route of the Sante Fe Railway. By 1887, six passenger trains and two freight trains stopped in Perris every day.
Perris' resulting rapid growth was short-lived...in the early 1890s, heavy storms repeatedly washed out the railroad tracks in the Temecula Gorge. As a result, the railroad decided to abandon service to San Diego by way of Perris.
Perris, Elsinore and other communities in what was, at that time, the northerly part of San Diego County, were cut off from direct rail service to the county seat. A movement began to form a new county, and portions of San Bernardino and San Diego counties became Riverside County in March of 1893.
The railroad played a vital role in establishing the new town; now the good citizens of Perris turned to agriculture for their future development. Because of limited ground water, dry grain farming was the main crop before water was brought to the valley by the Eastern Municiap Water district in the early 1950s. Alfalfa, the King potato and sugar beets became the staples of farming in the valley.
Perris was incorporated in 1911.
Perris pays homage to its heritage with several museums displaying artifacts from the 1800s: the Perris Valley Historical Museum, the Orange Empire Railway Museum and the Ya'i Heki' (Home of the Wind) Museum.
Which brings us to...Good Things To Do in Perris!
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If you read the list above, then you know you don't really even need to leave the Lake Perris SRA to find things to do. But if you're feeling in the mood for some exploring, here are some recommendations:
The March Field Air Museum
Over 60 historic aircraft are on display, both in and outside of the main museum building. Many famous record breaking planes such as the Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" are represented, as well as the strategic bombers and fighters of the Cold War Period. World War II is well represented by planes such as the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the Douglas A/B-26 Invader, and the B-29 Superfortress.
The March Field Air Museum is located just off the I-215 freeway at the Van Buren exit in Riverside. Their orange and white checkerboard roof is visible from the freeway.
Admission prices are $7.00 for those 12 years and up, $3.00 for chldren ages 5 through 11, and free for children under the age of 5.
The museum is open from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. seven days a week (closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Day and Easter).
Group tours may be scheduled by calling 697-6604.
For more information, click here for the March Field Air Museum website.
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The Orange Empire Railway Museum
Explore the West's largest collection of railway locomotives, passenger and freight cars, streetcars, interurban electric cars, buildings and other artifacts dating from the 1870's.
Ride streetcars, interurban cars and trains on the museum railway. Trolleys and trains operate every weekend and on most major holidays, 11:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Visit the Pinacate Station Museum Store and the Museum grounds daily (except Thanksgiving and Christmas), 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Access to the Museum Grounds is free. On regular weekends, an all-day pass to ride the trains costs $12 for adults, $8 for children 5-11, free for kids under 5. Parking is always free.
The Museum is located at 2201 S. "A" Street in Perris. Call 951-657-2605 or 951-943-3020 for more information, or click here for the Orange Empire Railway Museum website.
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