From irrigation to recreation, how Canyon Lake came to be – Press Enterprise

While driving Railroad Canyon Road between Lake Elsinore and Menifee, one passes the city of Canyon Lake, along with the lake itself. The residential aspect of the area dates back nearly 60 years, but the lake itself, and the planning for it, are nearly 100 years old.

The story of Railroad Canyon Lake, as the original lake was called, goes back to the early 1920s when the Temescal Water Company began planning for a dam and reservoir for irrigation water along the San Jacinto River. Railroad Canyon, through which the California Southern Railway ran in the 1880s, contained not only the railroad itself, but also the San Jacinto River.

By the 1920s, plans were in the making to abandon the railroad, and so the Temescal Water Company, which wanted to secure water for some 4,500 acres of proposed agriculture in Temescal Canyon, opted to purchase over 2,000 acres of land from the railroad and others. Here, they would build a dam in the western part of Railroad Canyon, creating a reservoir.

Throughout the 1920s, legal battles delayed the project, but construction started in 1928, with completion late the following year. The dam was nearly 700 feet in length, 70 feet tall at its highest point, and created a lake/reservoir dozens of acres in size.

Although at first, the dam and lake seemed likely to be a failure, over the years, the lake, then-called Railroad Canyon Lake, began to grow and offered an additional source of water for the Temescal Water Company.

In 1937, seeing a desire for recreation in the area, George and Leta Evans opened a fishing and boating camp on the lake’s southwest side, where they rented cabins and boats to visitors. The camp became known as Railroad Canyon Camp, and expanded over the years.

By the mid-1960s, various entities were looking at Railroad Canyon Lake with thoughts of leisure development.