Coto de Caza
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Coto de Caza Community Information

"Coto de Caza is a census-designated place (CDP) and guard-gated private community in Orange County, California. The population was 13,057 at the 2000 census.

The town is a suburban planned community of about 4,000 homes, and one of Orange County's oldest planned communities. The project began in 1970, when it was envisioned as a hunting lodge and was completed in 2000. Around the town there are still undeveloped lots available for purchase as well as two 18-hole golf courses. Currently there are two club houses, one considered the "old club" and the other the "new club." The new club harbors the facilities between the golf courses and the tennis club. The old club, located in the residential area known as "the Village," once held tennis guru and teacher Vic Braden, but after its numerous changes in ownership the club has become less attractive. The old club was also the home location for the Coto de Caza Youth Swim Team.

The community is the setting of the reality-based television show The Real Housewives of Orange County on Bravo.

Coto de Caza contains commercial endeavors, The Coto de Caza General Store and Merry Hill School. The whole community is guard-gated, and some of the more exclusive areas are even guard-gated multiple times. Residents shop five minutes away in Rancho Santa Maragarita or ten to twenty minutes away in Mission Viejo. Most students in Coto de Caza reside in the Capistrano Unified School District and attend Wagonwheel, Las Flores Middle School, Ladera Ranch Middle School, RSM Intermediate, Tesoro High School, Newhart Middle School, Capistrano High School, and Santa Margarita Catholic High School (not part of Capistrano Unified). But the list goes on. The community is mainly middle class and upper middle class with a few scattered condos and townhomes. The most prestigious part is Los Ranchos Estates which is the most exclusive part of the community, the most rural, and where prices are the highest. A select few of very wealthy residents reside in Los Ranchos. The majority of the community is tract homes and semi-custom homes, with collections of customs on the outskirts off the main streets. The community is a good value in that large homes with large amounts of land can be purchased in Coto de Caza for less money than a similar home in the more costal and developed areas. Coto de Caza is twenty minutes from the Interstate 5 freeway and five minutes from the 241 tollroad to Irvine and then Riverside County.

While some residents believe that "Coto de Caza" means "Preserve of the Hunt" in Portugese, this is erroneous. The proper wording in Portuguese is "Couto de Caça". In actuality, "Coto de Caza" is Spanish for "Hunting Reserve" and implies that the reserve is private.

The CDP is served by Capistrano Unified School District. The only school located within the gates is a private elementary school, Merryhill School, teaching grades pre-school through fourth. No public schools are located within the gates.

The Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park surrounds the community of Coto de Caza on its eastern, northern, and southern borders. It is known for its oak groves, sycamores, and 2 creeks. It is nearly 530 acres in size, and comprises over half of the community of Coto de Caza. It features nearly 5 miles of equestrian trails, 12 miles of hiking trails, and several biking trails. It houses an educational center for outdoor education for the local schools, and has an on-site gift shop. It also serves as an ecological preserve for the native endangered plant and animal species, and is run by a staff of about 12 groundskeepers and 5 tourguides. It is maintained and paid for by the Orange County Park and Recreational Department, but in recent years, a recorded profit from the park was made."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coto_De_Caza