A river runs through Windsor Village, sort of. Typical of most rivers in Southern California, the Santa Ana River is basically a wide, dry concrete storm channel. Still, this river is not devoid of water or other features. On top of its smooth gray and slanted banks is the Santa Ana River Trail, which is a busy bike and pedestrian trail that leads toward the lively Orange County beaches.
This neighborhood typifies the types of places found in North Orange County. It’s a culmination of mobile home parks, condos, town-houses, apartments, and two-bedroom tract homes nestled next to expansive ranch-houses, mansions, and orchard-sized plots of residential land. Many of these unique homes and properties were remnants of Orange County’s rural and agricultural past.
There are several open spaces throughout this community. The fairly large Centennial Regional Park – with two man-made lakes – borders its southern border along Edinger Avenue. Another is Windsor Park, next to its only public school: Jefferson Elementary School.
Most of the businesses in this neighborhood exist on the outer edge of its loosely defined borders. The main streets are Harbor Boulevard in the west, Edinger Avenue to the south, McFadden Avenue to the north and Fairview Street to the east. It is on these streets that strip malls, eateries, retail stores and other businesses can be found (the largest can be found on the corner of Harbor Boulevard and McFadden Avenue).
What this community lacks (churches and high schools, for example), it makes up for in location. Disneyland is north; the beaches to the south. And, of course, it has the Santa Ana River Trail running through it, offering a nice ride or walk along a “river.”