Running in Lake Elsinore, California?

Treadmill.

Running outside will feel like smoking.

There are trails nearby in them there mountains around the lake.

pop_pop! wrote:

Treadmill.

Running outside will feel like smoking.

Not in March.

Should be good weather, other than maybe some rain. December to March are good running months outside. Usually very little smog.

I was there for a few hours last year. Long story, but on a map it looked like a cool place to visit. It wasn't. Hot, dry desert with little vegetation. Very impoverished. Many stores and businesses shuttered Lots of abandoned homes and businesses and empty lots. What remains is largely in run down condition. Depressing, quite frankly. The "lake" is unimpressive. I know I sound negative and snobby but the place is not somewhere I would ever visit again. The only thing positive I can say is that it probably will be sunny and dry. It also didn't seem like a place with pollution. There wasn't any industry I saw, although I'm not an expert on air quality there. I suppose another positive thing is that I would guess the cost of housing would be very low there.

A few hours is not enough time to make an evaluation. Drive up hwy 74 and in no time you are in the Cleveland National Forest. Drive south a bit and visit downtown Temecula. March is a good time to visit. Other than the mountains, a few nice old town centers, the Elsinore area is a red state type of area.

Spent a few hours there wrote:

I was there for a few hours last year. Long story, but on a map it looked like a cool place to visit. It wasn't. Hot, dry desert with little vegetation. Very impoverished. Many stores and businesses shuttered Lots of abandoned homes and businesses and empty lots. What remains is largely in run down condition. Depressing, quite frankly. The "lake" is unimpressive. I know I sound negative and snobby but the place is not somewhere I would ever visit again. The only thing positive I can say is that it probably will be sunny and dry. It also didn't seem like a place with pollution. There wasn't any industry I saw, although I'm not an expert on air quality there. I suppose another positive thing is that I would guess the cost of housing would be very low there.

Yes, the lake is about dry. 20 years ago it was a better looking place. Nearby Temecula is A LOT nicer place for living and working. Lake Elsinore was a tourist and retirement community until the drought struck.

A few hours? wrote:

A few hours is not enough time to make an evaluation. Drive up hwy 74 and in no time you are in the Cleveland National Forest. Drive south a bit and visit downtown Temecula. March is a good time to visit. Other than the mountains, a few nice old town centers, the Elsinore area is a red state type of area.

I was talking about Lake Elsinore, not driving to Cleveland National Forest or to Temecula. You can see everything you need to see in Lake Elsinore in a few hours.

Yup, your 2 hours was not enough time for you to understand Lake Elsinore is a region, not just a lake. My parents have lived in Wildomar for more than 30 years. Wildomar was considered Lake Elsinore.

A few hours? wrote:

Yup, your 2 hours was not enough time for you to understand Lake Elsinore is a region, not just a lake. My parents have lived in Wildomar for more than 30 years. Wildomar was considered Lake Elsinore.

I was talking about the City of Lake Elsinore. I thought the OP was asking about that. If the OP was talking about a different city, like Temecula, then I wasn't talking about that.

I have visited the Elsinore for more than 30 years. Why would you visit only the tiny city area for two hours? The city is connected to other areas on all sides. What an odd way to visit an area. In two hours you could have driven up the 74 and completed a one hour run. In two hours you could visit Temecula, and the lake are with time to spare.

A few hours? wrote:

I have visited the Elsinore for more than 30 years. Why would you visit only the tiny city area for two hours? The city is connected to other areas on all sides. What an odd way to visit an area. In two hours you could have driven up the 74 and completed a one hour run. In two hours you could visit Temecula, and the lake are with time to spare.

The OP asked about Lake Elsinore. You now agree with me about the City of Lake Elsinore. You think it was a bad decision on my part to spend a few hours there. And, you interpret the OP's question about "Lake Elsinore" to asking about Temecula and other places, not about Lake Elsinore or the City of Lake Elsinore. Not sure I follow you on that. But feel free to post about your knowledge of other cities. I was just trying to respond to the OP. Not sure why you are so defensive about this.

I live in Lake Elsinore and it what's it is. Nothing special. You have a few options in your immediate vicinity to the mx track location. If you're looking for something pancake flat you can run at the levee behind the baseball stadium. It's a 7 mile out & back groomed trail/access road. Has mile marker signs and port a potties for walkers and runners as well.

Also about a 5 min drive south to Clinton Kieth you have the Santa Rosa Plateau. You can easily link some 12 mile runs or greater. It's very nice up there this time of year and is extremely green right now to a freak snow storm the area had New Years eve. You will not get a ton of elevation here either but the convience is and nicely kept trails make it worth it.

If you're looking for some excellent trails we have the Cleveland National Forest as suggested above within 10-15 minutes of your location. If you're into the trail scene there is an amazing network of trails that can link 100's of miles. Would be happy to show you some spots if that's your thing.

There are some other surrounding options in Temecula etc..

Tracks are finicky around here with the high schools. Might have to hop a few fences. I've never been hassled once on a track.

Calm down there fellow wrote:

You are a real two-hour trip expert. The person who is defensive is you. You can't stand that you really don't know anything about the place you visited.

You say a 5 minute drive south for what sounds like some great trails, but any way I could run there? I won't have access to a car, so will be looking to do all my runs from where I'm staying.

That levee sounds like the most convenient option right now. Running in the mountains would be really cool though...

Go skydiving instead. Lake Elsinore is home to one of the larger dropzones on the Planet.

Nearby Perris is the place to skydive.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/skydive-perris-perris

FYI, mountains are not 10 minutes away. Hills? Sure. It is all desert though.

Yes, you can head up 74(??) To idyllwild and that is great with lots of open space and way above the smog line. But, it's a 30 minute trip at least one way.

IMO, you will probably feel the smog.

Ummm, Idyllwild is well to the east of Elsinore. Mountains ARE 10 minutes away from Elsinore by driving west to the Cleveland National Forest. But, maybe the hills west of Elsinore are not mountains in your world.

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/aKr6Pm-RfFQ/maxresdefault.jpg

74 Ortega Highways towards the ocean winds up the mountain above the valley with views of Lake Elsinore, has Bluejay campground with lots of trails where races take place, then highway heads straight down the other side of the mountain, popular with fast driving rice and crotch rockets to the pacific ocean via San Juan Capistrano.

pop_pop! wrote:

FYI, mountains are not 10 minutes away. Hills? Sure. It is all desert though.

Yes, you can head up 74(??) To idyllwild and that is great with lots of open space and way above the smog line. But, it's a 30 minute trip at least one way.

IMO, you will probably feel the smog.