For centuries, the Acjechemen, missionaries, and early settlers used River Street as the path down to the Pacific Ocean. It was originally a path used by the Indigenous people of the area to reach Trabuco Creek, one of the main sources of water in the area. Maps from the late 1800's show River Street crossing Trabuco Creek and extending about four miles to the ocean, ending in Dana Point. The thoroughfare was also used by sheep herders driving sheep to the area off Alipaz, across the creek, where shearing took place. At one time a bridge crossed Trabuco Creek where River Street ends today; it was known as the McKinley Bridge, named for the one-time co-owner of the Mission along with Don Juan Forster. The bridge was washed away in a flood and never rebuilt. In 1948 River Street was abandoned as a street. It is unknown when it was first paved. Now it is 25 feet wide and 600 feet long, running from Los Rios Street to the west and terminating at Paseo Adelanto. It is part of the area placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1983 by local historian Ilse Byrnes, and it is a private street owned by the property owners facing it.