San Luis Rey River

San Luis Rey River
River mouth from North Coast Hwy bridge.
Location
Country	United States
State	California
Physical characteristics
Source	Lake Henshaw reservoir
• location	Confluence of West Fork San Luis Rey River and Buena Vista Creek, Cleveland National Forest, San Diego County
• coordinates	33°24′02″N 116°37′26″W / 33.40056°N 116.62389°W / 33.40056; -116.62389[1]
• elevation	2,627 ft (801 m)
Mouth	Pacific Ocean
• location	Oceanside, San Diego County
• coordinates	33°12′08″N 117°23′32″W / 33.20222°N 117.39222°W / 33.20222; -117.39222[1]
• elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Length	69 mi (111 km), East-west[2]
Basin size	557 sq mi (1,440 km2)[3]
Discharge
• location	Oceanside[3]
• average	36.3 cu ft/s (1.03 m3/s)[3]
• minimum	0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)
• maximum	25,700 cu ft/s (730 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Buena Vista Creek
• right	West Fork San Luis Rey River, Pauma Creek

The San Luis Rey River is a river in northern San Diego County, California.

The river's headwaters are in the Palomar Mountain Range and Cleveland National Forest, near Palomar Mountain and the Santa Rosa Mountains. The river mouth, on the Pacific Ocean, is in northern Oceanside. The San Luis Rey River bike path runs along it for its last 9 miles (14 km).

The river is over 69 miles (111 km) long^[4] and drains 562 square miles (1,460 km²). There is little water in the river during most of the year, but it can have very large flows during winter storms.