Diamond Valley
Tucked in the hills between Hemet and Temecula, CA is the recently formed Diamond Valley Lake Reservoir. We'd heard about the construction and could see the dams as we drove on SR79 so with taxes completed and mailed we took a break and checked it out. Who knew?
It's huge! There are 3 earthen dams holding in 260 billion gallons of water. The deepest part is 250' and it's about 4.5 miles long east to west. It is the largest earthworks project in US history. Here's a view of the eastern dam looking out toward the valley.
The reservoir was finally filled in 2002 and now provides wonderful boating, fishing and hiking opportunities. There is so much planned for this complex including a Water Educaton Center and a Western Paleontology Center. We hope campgrounds will be part of the plan! Read about the construction, details of the dam and the environmental preserve, and future plans on the Diamond Valley Lake website.
We're headed back this weekend to see the western dam and visitor viewpoint then maybe next week we'll take advantage of 1/2 price boat rentals on Wednesday. A relaxing pontoon ride would be lots of fun if it gets a bit warmer.