Lake Irvine

Lake Irvine (known in Orange County as Irvine Lake) is a reservoir in Orange County, California. The lake is on Santiago Creek, located northeast of the city of Irvine and close to Irvine Regional Park.

The lake is formed by the Santiago Dam, at the lake's north end, which was built between 1929 and 1931, and the lake was originally called the Santiago Reservoir. The dam was built by the Irvine Company (the private developers of the city of Irvine) and the Serrano Irrigation District (now called the Serrano Water District); it is now administered jointly by the Serrano Water District and the Irvine Ranch Water District. The lake provides drinking water to Villa Park and some parts of Orange, and provides supplementary irrigation water to neighbouring ranches.

Access to the lake is via Santiago Canyon Road, the road leading from Orange to Silverado. The Cleveland National Forest is on the northeast side of the lake.

Stocked with largemouth bass, catfish, trout and crappie,the lake fishery opened to the public in 1941. The land around the lake is owned by the Irvine Co., which leases the fishing, boating, and camping concessions to a SWD Recreation Inc.