Hemet, United States: Self-Guided Walking Tour
Things to Do in Hemet, California
The best things to do in Hemet include exploring the Western Science Center and discovering the prehistoric story behind Diamond Valley Lake. This Southern California city offers a quieter destination with a distinctive collection of Ice Age fossils and Native American artifacts. Neywo also has a free audio guide for Hemet with 1 narrated place.
What to See in Hemet
Western Science Center
The Western Science Center is a museum near Diamond Valley Lake dedicated to the archaeology and paleontology connected with the area. Its collections include Ice Age fossils, Native American artifacts, and discoveries made during the development of the lake.
The museum’s most remarkable resident is Max, the largest mastodon found in the western United States. Visitors can also see Xena, a Columbian mammoth, as well as dinosaur fossils recovered from New Mexico.
The Western Science Center opened in 2006 under the name Western Center for Archaeology and Paleontology. It was designed to support the research, curation, and presentation of nearly one million specimens discovered during the development of Diamond Valley Lake.
Diamond Valley Lake’s prehistoric story
The development of Diamond Valley Lake led to discoveries that revealed an extraordinary Ice Age past. Excavations uncovered remains of mastodons, mammoths, giant sloths, dire wolves, camels, and long-horned bison.
The museum presents this story alongside the recovered specimens, giving Hemet a prehistoric dimension that is unusual among Southern California destinations. The discoveries are also associated with the informal nickname “Valley of the Mastodons.”
Diamond Valley Lake
Diamond Valley Lake is a major drinking-water reservoir that also provides opportunities for outdoor activities. Depending on your interests, the area can be enjoyed through boating, fishing, cycling, running, hiking, and horseback riding.
Its open surroundings add a broad natural setting to a visit focused on the Western Science Center and the history of the lake’s construction.
Is Hemet Worth Visiting?
Hemet is worth visiting if you are interested in Ice Age fossils, paleontology, and the story of how Diamond Valley Lake revealed nearly one million specimens. The Western Science Center brings together the area’s fossils, Native American artifacts, and archaeological history in one place.
Hemet is part of California, in the United States. It can also be combined with visits to other California destinations such as Idyllwild, La Mesa, or Glendale.
Explore Hemet with Neywo
Download Neywo’s free audio guide to Hemet and let the app tell the story of its 1 narrated place as you reach it. The narration plays at your own pace, with no group and no schedule, and is available in 11 languages.
Places with an audio guide in Hemet
1 place in Hemet with a Neywo audio guide. Each one starts telling its story as you reach it.
Walk Hemet with Neywo
Neywo turns Hemet into a self-guided audio tour. Stories arrive as you reach the place they belong to, and the route reshapes when you wander off it.
