Lake Murray

Families, students, and retired folks. People from all walks of life enjoy making the Lake Murray and Navajo area their home.

The crowds seem to be well fed in the Lake Murray area.  There are several breakfast, lunch and dinner restaurants serving a wide variety of  cuisines. Gold Coast Bagels is a wonderful bagel and coffee shop as is Einstein Bros Bagels on Navajo Road.  There are Denny's and Coco's for general menu dining open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Peach Blossom on Navajo Road has a great chinese buffet for lunch and dinner. Lake Murray Cafe and The Trails are great for anytime of the day and serve great wholesome homestyle cooking at a reasonable price with friendly neighborly good service. Outback Steakhouse on Lake Murray and Baltimore Drive is the best place to get a great steak, ribs or grilled chicken. The Fish Merchant on Navajo Road and  Jackson Drive offers excellent seafood fare. There are a variety of Italian and Mexican restaurants throughout the area that offer a good meal without breaking the budget. The best Italian dining is by far Pietro's Cucina Italiana on Parkway Dr and Jackson Dr. It is a quiet relaxed and peaceful atmosphere. The owner and operator, Pietro, serves also as chef and will take good care of you. If you are lucky he will come by your table and tell you a story of old Italy. Another nearby option with a larger busier atmosphere is Nicolosi's on Navajo Rd near Jackson. Great dining as well.   If your pallet prefers Mexican fare, choose from the best in town of either Pancho's on Fletcher Parkway at Garfield or Casa De Pico in Grossmont Center. For dessert there are numerous yogurt and ice cream shops throughout the area.

There are a few sports bars in the area and a few places to enjoy a beer and a game or two of pool.  Grossmont Center mall, just a few miles away, has the closest movie theaters with several screens to choose from. Libraries and bookstores are available for some good reading materials and various media accessability. As far as night life, it is non existant unless you consider a beer run to Vons a good time.  

Great value in rental prices.  No where else in San Diego will you find as many trails to run,hike,bike without paying a hefty price tag.  These apartments are affordably priced as well.

 You can walk to most necessities however you still are in San Diego County which is known to struggle with it's public transportation.  It is a couple of miles from the trolley however the bus system does travel by here and can take you to a nearby trolley station..  The freeways near Lake Murray area are I-8,  SR 125 and 52.

A nice family friendly neighborhhod to live in. So, generally speaking, good references, good credit, sufficient income, and clean criminal history are generally going to be required. Each rental community will have it's own specific criteria so be sure to ask up front.

One of the best areas to own a dog because of all of the places to take them outdoors.  There are strict leash laws in San Diego and La Mesa Counties that are always in effect and being enforced.

Anything that involves the sun and the great outdoors.  To your hearts content there is rowing, fishing, hiking, running, biking, golfing, and rollerblading in this area. Mission Trails Golf Course and nearby Carlton Oaks Golf Course in Santee both offer a quiet relaxed atmosphere for getting in 18 holes. There are also shopping centers nearby; Grossmont Center in La Mesa is an outdoor mall, Westfield's Parkway Plaza in El Cajon is a much larger indoor mall, and about 10 miles west are both Mission Valley, and Fashion Valley malls. The world famous San Diego Zoo is about 15 miles south-west and offers free parking. Day passes and memberships are both available. Also famous is Sea World, and our famous whale Shamu, down on the coast about 20 miles west. South-west is Coronado Island and the historical Hotel Del Coronado and the beautiful beach where you can walk along and collect sand dollars, clams and sea shells. The north end of the beach is a leash-free dog beach. The Hotel Del offers historical tours, shops, boutiques, dining and a view of one of the most pristine beaches in California. On the way to Coronado you will pass by Old Town. The historical heart of San Diego where the first settlers set up home and establised the first schoolhouse and original businesses and missions in San Diego. There are tours and historical sights to see as well as shopping and dining. Lake Murray is centrally located in eastern San Diego county, and the Cuyamaca and Laguna Mountains are only about an hour drive east where you can go up to Julian, an old historical gold mining town, and do some apple picking in the fall during the Julian Apple Festival days. There you will find the best fresh baked apple pie anywhere. The Old Julian Cider Mill offers fresh pressed apple cider, local grown honey, fresh jams, jelly and preserves as well as an old fashioned selection of candies and treats. In surrounding mountains the camping, fishing, and boating are year round options. Some of the best bass fishing can be had at Lake Cuyamaca in the Cuyamaca Mountains. If an hour drive to the mountains is a bit too far for you, just head north about 5 miles to Santee Lakes where you can fish along the shore of any one of the six lakes, take a ride on a  paddle boat and camp at the campgrounds. Bring in your own RV or tent for camping, or rent a water floating cabin or shore line cabin. The area is so beautiful , many folks live there year round.

For art lovers, Balboa Park, Seaport Village, the Gas Lamp District downtown, and Gilman Drive in La Jolla have the best art galleries with a variety of artists,styles and media available to choose from. All would require a short drive from the Lake Murray area but are all easily accessable by easy freeway access. The Performing Arts are alive and well in San Diego. Numerous theaters and playhouses are brimming with talent in year round performances of everything from musical theater to drama to operas, to side splitting comedies. Check out the latest offerings from Christian Community Theater in East County (the closest to Lake Murray), The Lyceum Theater in the Gas lamp District downtown, La Jolla Playhouse, the historic Old Globe and Starlight Theaters in Balboa Park, The San Diego Civic Center, and Lambs Players Theater in Coronado are all excellent choices. 

With an abundance of things to see, do, experience and enjoy in and around San Diego's east county, the Lake Murray area is the perfect place to call home.

Lake Murray Boulevard has it all.  Major cross streets and intersections are Navajo Road to the north, Jackson Drive, and Baltimore Drive to the south. Most of the businesses you will need are found on Lake Murray Blvd, Navajo Road, and Jackson Drive. Grossmont Center mall with several shopping, theater, and dining options is to the south end of Jackson Drive, accessible by the I-8 freeway. The 125 freeway runs north and south just east of the Lake Murray area and will connect you to the I-8 and 52 freeways.

Big name grocery stores in the local area are Albertsons and Vons. On Lake Murray at Navajo there is an Albertsons and on Lake Murray and Baltimore there is a Vons. Smaller markets in the area are Fresh and Easy on Navajo, and Vine Ripe on Fletcher Parkway  near Baltimore. Pharmacy's in the area are numerous and several choices to choose from. There are the major stores such as CVS, Rite-Aid and Walgreens as well as lessor known local shops such as Med-Rx. Many banks are in the area, again big well known branches as well as smaller lessor known ones.  Wells Fargo, Chase Bank, Union Bank of California, US Bank and Bank of America are all in the local area and within walking distance of most areas apartment communities.   If you need a local gym to work out, there is an LA Fitness on Navajo Road at the 125 which is near Grossmont College. Also there is a 24-Hour Fitness by Grossmont Center. Smaller fitness centers are in the area as well, choose from Curves, Gold's Gym, and Chuze. There is also an excellent yoga studio named A Gentle Way Yoga on Baltimore as well.

There are many pre-schools and public schools in the area and churches as well.  This is a great area to raise a family because it is so family friendly with all the great schools, parks and recreation.  Local public schools are Green Elementary, Gage Elementary, Dailard Elementary, Pershing Middle School and Parkway Middle School, and Patrick Henry High School. There a some private schools in the area as well. Higher education consists of Grossmont Community College which is just off the 125 north of Navajo Road, and San Diego State University is a short freeway drive from this area. There are several churches, synagogues and places of worship in this area. To name just a few: Our Lady Of Grace Catholic Church, St. Therese Catholic Church, St. Andrews Lutheran Church, Lake Murray Community Church, Faith Chapel, Del Cerro Baptist Church, San Carlos Methodist Church, Temple Emanu-El, Tifereth Israel Synagogue, and The Vietnamese Buddhist Association in nearby Santee.