LAKE ELSINORE, CA — With May Gray at the coast, now is the perfect time of year to explore and visit Southwest Riverside County. Visit Temecula Valley has launched its newest campaign, “10Lake Valley,” a campaign focusing on eight communities and 214 square miles of lakes, rivers, cities, mountain peaks, and fertile valleys of Temecula Valley Wine Country.

Visit Temecula Valley CEO Scott Wilson discussed the push to showcase the SoCal wildlands.

“To me, the 10 Lake Valley idea is that this is the ultimate outdoor playground in our area. You get out there in your own backyard,” Wilson said. “My favorite is hiking around Lake Skinner, and Diamond Valley Lake is massive. It’s beautiful and picturesque for fishing and boating. More, to create core memories with your family.”

Area residents regularly hike, bike, fish, boat, or hot-air balloon over much of our slice of Riverside County.

Jogging trails around Diamond Valley Lake, hiking trails along the Santa Rosa Plateau, and camping at Lake Hemet are only some of the area’s hidden gems.

“For the people who play on the edges and carve their own paths, who never leave a scenic route untaken, or a vista unviewed, the combined efforts of the initiative shows the varied regions that Southwest Riverside County has for residents and visitors to enjoy.

One of the top and most recognizable destinations is Temecula Valley Wine Country, spanning over 2,460 acres of vineyards with nearly 50 wineries. But there is much more to the area than that.

Where are the 10 Lakes Of Southwest Riverside County?

Within Southwest Riverside County, there are ten lakes, all distinct for their beauty, water sports, and fishing. They mirror the surrounding communities of Canyon Lake, Hemet, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Murrieta, San Jacinto, Temecula, and Wildomar:

“These enchanting waters nourish our spirits, flourish our lands, and cultivate a refreshing sense of serenity and connection. So whether you’re here for thrills and watersports or chilling out on the water in the sun, these 10 lakes will stir your soul,” according to the website.

1. Canyon Lake: Welcome to the paradise of this close-knit lakeside community. When you visit,enjoy the hiking, pubs, and clubs and the sprawl of lakes and beaches.
2. Diamond Valley Lake: Surrounded by mountains, come to enjoy the stunning vistas. Home of “monster-sized” fish, you can rent boats or e-bikes at the marina, or walk the 22.7 mile trails around the lake.
3. Heritage Lake: A 1.3 mile walking trail surrounds this 25-acre lake. Come to use outdoor exercise equipment, sports equipment and children’s play areas.
4. Lake Elsinore: Ideal for outdoor adventure enthusiasts, skydiving, hang-glide, wingsuit or boat, jet ski, and windsurfing.
5. Lake Hemet: Fishing and camping lovers, the mountain lake of Lake Hemet offers glamping and lakefront cabins, boat rentals and a swim zone. Seasonally stocked with rainbow and lightning trout, and fish year-round for blue gill, crappie, bass and catfish.
6. Lake Perris: Birdwatchers paradise, this lake is ideal for hiking, biking, scuba diving, water sports, nature walks, horseback riding and fishing.
7. Lake Skinner: Camping, picnicking, splash pad, hiking, horseback, riding, sailing, fishing and non-body contact boating. Day use available. The location of the annual Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival.
8. Menifee Lakes: Surrounded by two 18-hole golf courses, this lake stretches over 36 acres of waterways this lake is an idyllic backdrop of golfers, casual walkers and hikers.
9. Mystic Lake: Another birdwatcher’s paradise, Mystic lake sees 200 identified species of birds annually and sits adjacent to a 9,000 San Jacinto Wildlife area.
10. Vail Lake: Visit the KOA campground and check out the lake for bass fishing, bike park, a world-class bike park with 25-miles of trails, obstacles, flow track and races for mountain biking and BMX.

While Lake Skinner is a reservoir, with no body contact but fishing and boating allowed, lakes like Diamond Valley Lake, Lake Hemet, and Lake Elsinore attract visitors interested in water sports like fishing, kayaking, windsurfing, boating, water skiing, and jet skiing.

The project was in keeping with the statewide initiative to get tourism on track. To do that, extensive research was conducted, deciding on the locally known but not often shared outdoor activities around our many lakes. The result was the 10Lake Valley website and ad campaign, built to educate those who wish to come, stay, and play here. Financing for the project was bolstered by 2022 ARPA funds, according to Wilson.

Chuck Washington, Riverside County’s Third District Supervisor, discussed the project to expand local tourism beyond the valley.

“What many people don’t know about Southwest Riverside County is that there are many unique areas waiting to be discovered, and that’s what 10Lake Valley is all about,” Washington said. “I am immensely proud of this initiative, which showcases the incredible beauty of our region and creates new opportunities for exploration and adventure for our visitors.”

Learn more by exploring online at 10lakevalley.com.

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The 2-day trout derby ultimately drew 491 anglers, which is even more impressive considering the fact the Big Trout Campout was up against the Eastern Sierra trout opener (April 27). Right out of the gates, every registered angler grabbed a giveaway bag containing PowerBait, Thomas Buoyant lures and Rooster Tails, then it was off to hit a heavily-stocked Hemet Lake for a shot at great sponsor prizes and cash. Like all WON family fishing events, catching the biggest or most fish was not the only way to get your hands on prizes at the Big Trout Campout. In fact, the biggest prize – an aluminum Marlon boat matched with a 9.9 hp Suzuki outboard – was among the raffles prize, and all registered anglers were automatically entered for that stuff. There were prizes awarded to the top 5 adults and juniors for the heaviest 2-day total weights, the overall big fish, and there were Blind Bogey cash payouts spread across both days.

Stephen Guerra stood as the overall winner with a 2-day total weight of 23.04 pounds, a bag anchored by an 8.53-pound rainbow caught on Day 1 which also stood as the overall Big Fish of the Big Trout Campout. He narrowly edged out second-place finisher Martin Diaz who weighed in 22.63 pounds of Lake Hemet trout. As for the spoils of victory. Guerra claimed the first place spoils and also the Sea Eagle FishSUP Deluxe inflatable fishing paddleboard that was earmarked for the overall big fish. Like most Campout anglers, Guerra did most of his damage on Day 1 (19.33 pounds) with only 3.71 pounds added to the total on Day 2 when fishing got tough. Those were the only two bags weighing over 20 pounds, but five tipped the scale at over 15 pounds and all the weights in the top 25 were in double digits.

Like Lake Havasu Striper Derby and other family-fishing tournaments put on by WON, Suzuki had a huge presence at the Lake Hemet Big Trout Campout. Along with providing the outboard for the grand raffle prize boat, Suzuki once again powered the Suzuki Spin-to-Win prize wheel with $2,000 cash to be distributed based on whatever amount the wheel landed on (Yes there is a $2,000 spot, and yes, someone has landed on it before). Anglers who get their number called via the raffle come up to spin until the Suzuki money is all gone, and it always seems to be the most raucous portion of the award ceremony, whatever the venue. The funny thing is, the Suzuki Spin to Win Wheel was originally supposed to be a one-event deal, but it was so well received it has become a regular thing, literally by popular demand.

The winner of that Marlon/Suzuki boat-and-motor Grand Prize was Martin Diaz Jr. who had it quite a bit better than any other boat raffle winner in a WON event. While everyone has an equal shot at winning and it’s completely unaffected by how well you fished in the event, Diaz happened to be the second-place winner. That is the highest finish for an angler that was also the Grand Prize winner in the history of WON’s family events.

When the dust settled on the Big Trout Campout, all involved with producing and running the tournament were confident that everyone had a good time, stoked that there were no logistical headaches and fired up about the 2025 installment of the event. If you don’t want to wait that long for a trout derby with a similar vibe, mark your calendars for the long-running WON Big Bear Troutfest slated for October 5-6. A boat and motor is always up for grabs there, the Suzuki Spin-to-Win cash wheel will be there, and a legendary fishery in a spectacular setting will be packed with trout and ready to host another great time on the water.

Keep an eye on the TOURNAMENTS tab at WONews.com for these and all other events produced by WON.

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