Overview
About The Reserve
The Reserve covers 155.5 acres and holds 420 addresses on 535 parcels, at a median parcel of 0.162 acres. It is the eighth largest of the fifty San Clemente communities mapped here by area and the sixth by address count. Twenty streets run inside it, led by Costero Hermoso with 46 addresses, then Camino Oleada, Vista Luna, Canto Rompeolas and Costero Magestuoso.
Residential Low Density land accounts for 64.9 acres inside the boundary, private open space for 57.5 and public right of way for 26.3, and 0.45 miles of the Forster Ridgeline Trail run inside the line. The state fire hazard severity map places 136.8 acres in its Moderate class and 18.7 in High. Capistrano Unified's locator returned San Clemente High at all five interior points tested, but split below that: four points returned Clarence Lobo Elementary and Shorecliffs Middle, and the easternmost returned Truman Benedict Elementary and Bernice Ayer Middle. It is the only one of the fifty where the district's locator disagreed across the points tested, so check the assignment for a specific address.
View available homes in The ReserveHistory
How The Reserve was built
The Reserve is the last thing built on Forster Ranch, and the dates show it. Four separate gated neighborhoods, Reserve North, Reserve South, Reserve East and Reserve West, went up along the upper ridgelines between 2002 and 2004, each with its own entrance off the same run of hillside streets. Those street names are really a description of where you are standing. Colina Salida Del Sol is the sunrise hill, Colina Del Arco Iris the rainbow one, Canto De Los Ciervos belongs to the deer and Manera Ventosa to the wind, while Costero Magestuoso and Vista Marea face the other way, out over the water.
Forster Ranch is one of the four inland ranches the city drew plans for, 1,982 acres in the northwest corner of San Clemente running up to the San Juan Capistrano line on the west and north. Houses went in across it in waves from the early 1980s through to the end of the 2000s, which is why one community name covers homes twenty years apart in age and style. The Reserve sits at the top of that sequence, on the high ground the earlier waves had left alone, and its residents got the ridgeline views as a result.
By the Numbers
The Reserve by the numbers
Lifestyle
The The Reserve lifestyle
San Clemente keeps ten beaches of its own along the shore, from North Beach past the pier to Riviera, and the city's Marine Safety division staffs them. The pier itself carries restrooms, metered parking, fire rings and the Amtrak and Metrolink platform at its foot.
The city publishes five trail networks that run from the sand up into the canyons and along the ridgelines. Bikes are welcome on all of them, electric bikes are not allowed on the Beach Trail, dogs are welcome on a leash, and horses are permitted on the Forster Ridgeline, Prima Deshecha and Cristianitos trails. City parks are open from 6 am to 10 pm without a reservation unless a group needs a permit.
Schools
Schools serving The Reserve
Capistrano Unified does not assign all of The Reserve to one set of campuses. The district's own school locator returned San Clemente High, Bernice Ayer Middle, Shorecliffs Middle, Truman Benedict Elementary and Clarence Lobo Elementary across the points tested inside the boundary, so the assignment for a given address is worth confirming with the district. Enrollment comes from the federal count for 2024-25.
9-12 · 2,740 students
6-8 · 919 students
6-8 · 634 students
K-5 · 602 students
K-5 · 328 students
FAQs
Common questions about The Reserve
How big is The Reserve?
The boundary the city publishes covers 155.5 acres, with 420 addresses on 535 parcels at a median of 0.162 acres. It is the eighth largest of the fifty San Clemente communities mapped here by area.
Which schools serve The Reserve?
San Clemente High at every point tested, but the elementary and middle assignment splits. Four of the five points returned Clarence Lobo Elementary and Shorecliffs Middle and the easternmost returned Truman Benedict Elementary and Bernice Ayer Middle. Confirm the assignment for a specific address with the district before you rely on it.
When was The Reserve recorded?
Tract 16040 was recorded in 2000 and Tracts 16210, 16211, 16212 and 16282 in 2002, all by Hunsaker and Associates.
Is there a trail inside the boundary?
Yes. 0.45 miles of the Forster Ridgeline Trail run inside the published line.
What is the fire hazard rating?
136.8 acres sit in the state's Moderate fire hazard severity class and 18.7 in High. Raise it with an insurer early.