[6] Following a vote in 2000, Lake Forest expanded its city limits to include the master-planned developments of Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills.

The lakes are man-made, and condominiums and custom homes ranging from large to small line their shores.

It is also man-made, and was created in the first decade of the 1900s when a local landowner, Dwight Whiting, planted 400 acres (1.6 km2) of Eucalyptus groves in the vicinity of Serrano Creek as part of a lumber operation intended to draw development to the area.

[6] In the late 1960s, the Occidental Petroleum company developed a residential community in and around the Eucalyptus groves, which had long since expanded and grown much more dense.

In 1847 José Serrano and his family occupied eleven thousand acres of the Rancho Cañada de los Alisos that had been granted to them by the Government of Mexico, and that eventually reached the hands of Dwight Whiting.

In addition to the Serranos, established in Aliso Canyon, there was a group of pioneers who lived in the foothills and several miles above El Toro, many of whom were among the first settlers of this neighborhood.

El Toro Road at the I-5 Freeway was the epicenter of the Saddleback Valley from the late 19th century to the end of the 2nd millennium.

After years of planning, the city has worked with the property owners of some aging strip malls and developed the "Arbor at Lake Forest" commercial district.

Controversy ensued for months, as residents of the newer subdivisions arguing that "Lake Forest" sounded better than "El Toro", while long-time residents complained that the name change aimed to erase the town's history in favor of an artificial name that referred to man-made lakes.

California State Route 241 passes through the Foothill Ranch community of Lake Forest, in close proximity to several residential and commercial areas.

El Toro road has 8 major intersections in the city and passes through numerous communities, such as Portola Hills.

[20] Prior to the 2000 U.S. Census most of the area of the CDP was used to form the city of Lake Forest with a small portion being annexed to Mission Viejo.

Other public events include the Fourth of July 5K run[38] and fireworks display over the lake at the Sun & Sail Club.

[40] Lake Forest Sports Park and Recreation Center opened on November 1, 2014, across the street from Saddleback Church.

Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in the eastern part of the city was the site of an infamous mountain lion mauling in 2004 that captured the attention of the West Coast news media.

[44] Heritage Hill Historical Park and Museum is home to some of the oldest buildings in Orange County, including the Jose Serrano Adobe, an original adobe home and settlement built in 1863; El Toro's first school, the old El Toro School House; El Toro's first church, St. Georges Episcopal Church; and the Harvey Bennett Ranch House, built in 1908, from which the Bennett Ranch development in Lake Forest derives its name.

The Bennetts raised oranges for Sunkist, and owned the State-deeded water rights to Aliso Creek, which was very rare in California, and instrumental to their success.

It is also the location of "Ritchie's Park," per signs along Aliso Creek, which was a naturally set childhood playground along the stream, where all of the Bennett children and grandchildren played.

At one time, El Toro was considered a military town, but the city blossomed independently in the 1980s and 1990s before the base closed in 1999.

In addition to Cirbo and Tettemer, the three other City Council members are Robert Pequeno, Scott Voigts, and Benjamin Yu.

[56] Historically, Lake Forest has, like most of southern Orange County, been a Republican fortress in presidential elections.

Changing demographics and the intensely polarizing urban/rural divide, however, has made Lake Forest more fertile footing for Democrats, who in recent elections have been trimming the GOP margins in the city.

Lake Forest is served entirely by the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, or SVUSD.