Course of San Juan Creek

San Juan Creek, also called the San Juan River, is a 29-mile (47 km) long stream in Orange and Riverside Counties, draining a watershed of 133.9 square miles (347 km2). Its mainstem begins in the southern Santa Ana Mountains in the Cleveland National Forest. It winds west and south through San Juan Canyon, and is joined by Arroyo Trabuco as it passes through San Juan Capistrano. It flows into the Pacific Ocean at Doheny State Beach. San Juan Canyon provides a major part of the route for California State Route 74 (the Ortega Highway). Before Spanish colonization in the 1770s, the San Juan Creek watershed was inhabited by the Acjachemen or Juañeno Native Americans. The Juañeno were named by Spanish missionaries who built Mission San Juan Capistrano on the banks of a stream they named San Juan Creek. The watershed was used mainly for agriculture and ranching until the 1950s when residential suburban development began on a large scale. Since then, the human population has continued to encroach on floodplains of local streams. Flooding in the 20th and 21st centuries has caused considerable property damage in the San Juan watershed. The San Juan watershed is home to sixteen major native plant communities and hundreds of animal species. However, the watershed is projected to be 48 percent urbanized by 2050. In addition, urban runoff has changed flow patterns in San Juan Creek and introduced pollutants to the river system. Although the main stem of San Juan Creek does not have any major water diversions or dams, some of its tributaries, including Trabuco and Oso Creeks, have been channelized or otherwise heavily modified by urbanization.

The Doheny Desalination Plant is a 5-million-US-gallon per day (19 Ml) facility proposed by South Coast Water District in Dana Point, California. The 30-acre site (12 ha) is just north of State Route 1 on east side of San Juan Creek.The Joint Regional Water Supply System will distribute desalinated water existing water transmission lines to South Coast Water District customers and south Orange County.The site is between Pacific Coast Highway and Stonehill Drive next to San Juan Creek. The Joint Regional Water Supply System will distribute desalinated water existing water transmission lines to South Coast Water District customers and south Orange County.The subsurface intake (slant) wells at Doheny State Beach will be fully buried beneath the ocean floor to protect marine life. Brine, the saltwater left over from the desalination process, would be co-mingled with treated wastewater in an existing outfall pipe 2 miles (3.2 km) offshore.

Doheny State Beach is a protected beach in the state park system of California, United States, located on the Pacific Ocean in the city of Dana Point. The beach is a popular surf spot located at the mouth of San Juan Creek, which flows from the Santa Ana Mountains southwest to the beach, where it forms a fresh-water lagoon.

Capistrano Beach, or Capo Beach, is a coastal neighborhood in the city of Dana Point in Orange County, California. It is bordered by San Clemente to the south and Doheny State Beach to the north. Capistrano Beach is situated along the coast on the southern end of Dana Point. Some homes are situated atop a cliff overlooking Coast Highway and the Capistrano Beach park. Several celebrities live in the town area, notably on Beach Road, where Hobie Alter conceived of the popular Hobie Cat catamaran.

The Orange County Blues Festival was an annual multi-day blues event held in Dana Point, California. Similar to the nearby Topanga Canyon Blues Festival, it attracted some of the major blues artists in the United States. Some of the most notable artists to have appeared there are Canned Heat, Johnny Copeland and Etta James. The Orange County Blues Festival has since been replaced by the Doheny Blues Festival, a newer event that takes place at another location in Dana Point.

Dana Point () is a city located in southern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 33,107 at the 2020 census. It has one of the few harbors along the Orange County coast, and with ready access via State Route 1, it is a popular local destination for surfing. The city was named after the headland of Dana Point, which was in turn named after Richard Henry Dana Jr., author of Two Years Before the Mast, which included a description of the area. Dana described the locale, including neighboring San Juan Capistrano, as "the only romantic spot on the coast". This area is designated California Historical Landmark #189.

Coastland University (also known as Coastland Christian Bible College and University) began holding classes in 1999. It is an unaccredited, non-denominational, non-profit, co-educational Christian Bible college located in Southern California, United States. It uses classroom space at area churches and other venues rather than a dedicated campus. The physical address of the university/ministry is Rancho Santa Margarita, California, 92688. The university's president is Dr. Brett Peterson, who has been a minister, a pastor, and a professor.Coastland has several degree options available, including biblical studies, divinity, pastoral care and counseling, and theology. Coastland's degrees are not accredited by any organization.Coastland has an articulation agreement with Liberty University, so many of their classes will transfer to them. They went through the accreditation process with the Association of Higher Biblical Education, but they required a librarian and 30,000 books and Coastland decided not to pursue accreditation.

The Ocean Institute is an ocean education organization located in Dana Point, California. Founded as the Orange County Marine Institute in 1977, it offers ocean science and maritime history programs for K–12 students and their teachers. Over 100,000 students and 8,000 teachers from Orange County and the surrounding counties participate yearly in immersion-style programs in the institute's oceanfront labs and abroad.The institute is open to the general public on weekdays, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., and weekends, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.; visitors can see marine animals and ocean-themed exhibits. While creating the Nickelodeon animated television show SpongeBob SquarePants, biologist and cartoonist Stephen Hillenburg drew inspiration from his time teaching at the Ocean Institute.Moored at the institute is its 70-foot marine science research vessel, the R/V Sea Explorer, used for student programs and to take visitors on trips to see marine wildlife, including whale watching on weekends. The institute also partners with the Lazy-W Ranch, a camp located in the Cleveland National Forest where students study the ecosystem and California history. It provides outreach programs via a mobile laboratory provided by the "Ocean in Motion" van and distance learning via video conference.

Dana Hills High School is a high school in Dana Point, California opened in 1973. The school's enrollment of nearly 3,000 students is drawn from the nearby communities of Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, Capistrano Beach, and San Juan Capistrano. When Dana Hills was built in 1972–73, the area was an unincorporated area of Orange County. The school was named for its hilltop location over the unincorporated village of Dana Point, as well as the tip of the hill projecting south into the Pacific Ocean as the Dana Point headland. The school later became a part of the City of Dana Point, when the city was incorporated in 1989. Dana Hills now has over 155,839 square feet (14,477.9 m2) in permanent buildings. The principal is Brad Baker.

The Coach House is a music venue located at 33157 Camino Capistrano in San Juan Capistrano, California. The venue opened in 1980. It hosts aspiring artists as well as those established in the industry. Some notable past performers include B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Richard Marx, The Motels, Billy Squier, Pat Benatar, Eddie Money, Chris Isaak, Tori Amos, Tom Jones, Miles Davis, Warren Zevon, Frank Black, UFO, J.J. Cale, Lone Justice/Maria McKee, Rick Derringer, Tom Tom Club and Devo.

Holly Jo Glynn (September 11, 1966 – September 20, 1987) was a formerly unidentified American woman who committed suicide in September 1987 by jumping off a cliff in Dana Point, California. Her body remained unidentified until 2015, when concerns previously expressed by friends of Glynn that the unidentified woman may have been their childhood friend, whom they had been unable to locate for several years, were proven.Prior to her May 2015 identification, Glynn's body had been informally known as the Dana Point Jane Doe, and officially as Jane Doe 87-04457-EL

Monarch Beach is a small neighborhood in Orange County, California located within the city of Dana Point. It is primarily a residential community. Two luxury resorts, Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club and the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, are located within the area. Monarch Beach is close to the city boundary between Dana Point and Laguna Niguel.