It is located on State Route 79, which connects to the city of Temecula to the north and the communities of Santa Ysabel and Julian to the south.

In 1851, the Cupeño/Cahuilla "Garra Revolt" raid on Warner's Ranch occurred, a part of the Yuma War against immigrant intrusions.

[5] He opened the only trading post that served travelers on the trail between New Mexico Territory and the Pueblo de Los Angeles in Alta California.

[5] At the start of the Civil War in 1861, stagecoach service was discontinued and the Union Army established Camp Wright, a cavalry outpost at the ranch to protect the route from Southern California to Fort Yuma, and to intercept secessionist sympathizers attempting to the join the Confederate armies in the American South and in the Arizona Territory.

[5] Former California Governor John Downey purchased the Warner Springs Ranch in 1880, to graze cattle and sheep herds.

In 1978, the reservoir level was lowered 40% due to danger from the Elsinore Fault Zone running beneath the dam.