Location
Laguna Niguel is located in the southern part of Orange County in the San Joaquin Hills near the Pacific Ocean and is accessible off Interstate 5 at Crown Valley or via the 73 Toll Road or Pacific Coast Highway. The community is surrounded by Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Aliso Viejo, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Hills, and Mission Viejo. Orange County airport is approximately 20 minutes away as well as the business hub of Irvine.
Overview
Laguna Niguel features both older and newer homes and was one of the first master-planned communities in California that began in 1959 with the first homes sold in the early 1960s. The community has a coastal climate feel and has great trails and parks with lots of open space. The community was designed with offering residents all of their essential needs within the community. The population of the community is approximately 65,000 with over 25,000 housing units.
Neighborhoods
Laguna Niguel real estate ranges in age from the 1960s and was built by the early 2000s. Laguna Niguel offers small starter condos up to large beautiful custom homes, such as in the guard gated community of Bear Brand. The older single-family homes are both in single and two story plans with many having large lots, views on the hillsides, and some with breathtaking ocean views. The community offers guard gated enclaves as well as homes on the golf course.
Laguna Niguel features over 23 different neighborhoods and nearly 200 builder tracts or subdivisions. Popular neighborhoods include Beacon Hill, Bear Brand, Kite Hill, Laguna Crest, Laguna Heights, Marina Hills, Monarch Point and Summit, Rancho Niguel, and Rolling Hills. There are parks, shopping centers, schools, and more located throughout the neighborhoods. Due to the large diversity of offerings in the community, there are many different lifestyle choices when it comes to the homes and ones to meet various budgets.
Amenities
Laguna Niguel offers many parks and open spaces, schools, shopping centers, and more all in nearby surrounding communities, including minutes to the beaches in Dana Point and Laguna Beach.
The community is known for its extensive parks and trails with over a third of the community dedicated to open space. Laguna Niguel Regional Park is 227 acres and features Laguna Niguel Lake, extensive trails, barbeque areas and playground. Aliso and Woods Canyon Wilderness Park features over 4,000 acres of canyons and trails connecting to the coastal communities nearby. There are over 80 miles of trails.
Laguna Niguel is served by Capistrano Unified School District and students attend one of seven elementary schools, three middle schools and two high schools. Some of the schools are just outside the city boundary in Aliso Viejo. Elementary schools include Crown Valley, Hidden Hills, George White, Moulton, and Meridian. The middle school within the community is Niguel Hills. The two high schools, Dana Hills and Aliso Viejo, are just outside the cities border.