Derek and I did a ride to and around the gravel road that circles the lake. We parked down in the County Park at the bottom of the dam and road up the paved road climb before dropping into the marina. There is a $4 trail fee to ride the 22 mile gravel road, and I think there is an $11 parking fee to park at the marina. There a few paved sections, mostly over the three dams, but the rest is gravel with some rocky sections. We rode mountain bikes to be more comfortable but you could ride a gravel bike. In fact, they have a gravel race here in the spring.
A little bit of history about the lake. Diamond Valley Lake is a man-made reservoir located near Hemet, California, United States. It is one of the largest reservoirs in Southern California and one of the newest. It has a capacity of 800,000 acre-feet but is rarely that full because of ongoing draught. The Colorado River Aqueduct originally supplied the lake with water but no longer does. This area’s heritage begins during the Ice Age where the most concentrated amount of Mastodons once roam the earth. The remains of hundreds of Mastodons and other prehistoric dinosaurs were discovered in the bedrock of where the lake now rests.
We saw quite a few people fishing. The lake has several species of freshwater fish; largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, bluegill, crappie, rainbow trout, striped bass, channel catfish, and shad. Since this a water source for the area, swimming is unfortunately not allowed. It sure is a pretty backdrop for a ride.
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