Rancho Capistrano, is a private,

gated community A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences ...

surrounded by the

Cleveland National Forest Cleveland National Forest encompasses 460,000 acres (), mostly of chaparral, with a few riparian areas. A warm dry mediterranean climate prevails over the forest. It is the southernmost U.S. National Forest of California. It is administered by th ...

, in Riverside County,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Rancho Capistrano Owners Association homepage accessed 5/4/2013
/ref> It is located within the Morrell Potrero, in the

Elsinore Mountains The Elsinore Mountains are a ridge of mountains within the larger range of the Santa Ana Mountains, in the Cleveland National Forest, Riverside County, California, United States. the tallest peaks within the range is the unofficially named San Mateo ...

, northwest of

Elsinore Peak Elsinore Peak is a named summit, at the southern end of the mountain ridge running southeast from the vicinity east of El Cariso in the Elsinore Mountains, in Riverside County, California in the United States The United States of Americ ...

. The potrero, drained by

Morrell Canyon Creek Morrell Canyon Creek is a stream or Arroyo, tributary to San Juan Creek, located in the Cleveland National Forest in Riverside County, California, at an elevation of , in the Elsinore Mountains northeast of Elsinore Peak. It arises on the eastern ...

, a tributary of

San Juan Creek San Juan Creek, also called the San Juan River, is a long stream in Orange and Riverside Counties, draining a watershed of .7.5 Minute Quadrangle Map, U.S. Geological Survey, San Juan Capistrano, 1968, photorevised 1981 Its mainstem begins in ...

, was originally the site of the Morrell Ranch. It was developed as a gated community in 1969.Morrell Potrero, California, USGS Map Name: Wildomar, CA, Map Center: from topoquest.com accessed on 5/3/2013
/ref>

References

Unincorporated communities in Riverside County, California Gated communities in California Unincorporated communities in California {{RiversideCountyCA-geo-stub