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Today, Tenaja is a small elite community comprised of Equestrian Estates, however, to the early
native Indians it was "Land of Spring Water." The entire valley is like an underground lake
with ground water just a few feet below the surface.
Archeological digs have ascertained that Meadow Lakes and the boulder area once served as an
Indian Village. Meadow Lakes is a string of lakes that wind from Calle Pino through the Meadow
Oaks community into Buffalo Ranch; the lake on Buffalo Ranch is about five acres in size.
Tenaja is bordered by the Cleveland National Forest and the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve. It's
hard to believe that we're less than an hours drive from the Orange/L.A. County metropolitan areas.
A few miles west of the Buffalo Ranch is Tenaja Falls. It's a 150 foot cascading waterfall
over granite cliffs into the valley below.
The Buffalo Ranch was once owned by America's greatest citizens, Ronald and Nancy Reagan. President
Reagan played a little Polo and was an avid horseman. As you drive along Tenaja Road remember that
Ronald Reagan gave the residents of Tenaja Valley, the privilege of ownership when he subdivided
the ranch.
It's been said that Ronald Reagan and William French Smith (Attorney General), duck hunted
on Meadow Lake. Today Movie and Television Studios frequently film around the Lake and Boulder areas.
With the California Oak Forest in the background, it presents a scene out of Early California.
On the west side of the lake is the Polo Grounds. It's not fenced so animals can roam. In the early
morning, deer come to graze and water alongside the buffalo. Ranchers in the area have created a vast
fence free corridor along the creek which forms near Camp Pendleton and flows through Tenaja Valley
on its way to the ocean.
To learn more about the Polo Grounds, Click Here.
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