Lake Hemet Spring, Mountain Center, CA

5 people follow this spring.
Category: California, View All
Directions:

Description

There are about three bridges on rte.74 that cross over marshy areas as you approach lake hemet from the east. This spring is located on the south side of the road at the first bridge. Just look for a pull-off next to the bridge, it’s the only one. Local peoples are drinking this water, but I opted not to since it had a TDS of 141.

Nearest Address

On Rt. 74 next to bridge near lake Hemet. On the lake side of the road by the bridge over the South Fork San Jacinto River

Directions from Nearest Address

N/A

Vital Information

  • Fee: None
  • Access: Public
  • Flow: Continuous
  • TDS: 141-174
  • Temp: N/A
  • pH: 7.4 – 8.1

Hours Spring is Open:

24/7/365

GPS:

33.664494, -116.668220

Submitted by: Jacob, Raquel

Responses

  1. Just visited this spring last week. Water was flowing pretty fast. Filled 5 gallons in about 3-4 min. Water was nice and cold. Very tasty.

  2. Just went to fill up today and found out it is no longer flowing. Seriously bummed. Does anyone know why? If it is a spring then it shouldn’t matter if it is summer or not right? Is there something wrong with the pipe?

    1. I am shocked to hear this. I was there on September 22nd and the flow was okay. Not the best but not bad. Timed my 5 gallon containers to about 7 min each as it took just over an hour to fill 9. I think that the pipe is deteriorating, and people mess with it to improve flow (I’m guilty myself). Each time its messed with it probably leaks a little more. We may need to completely replace the pipe. I’m not positive what the best way to do this woudl be.

      1. I would love to have this fixed. Does anyone have any ideas? I would be willing to put some money toward a plumber to fix it. I am going up there tonight to see what is going on. Otherwise I might have to go to Marion Mountain to get water.

          1. My son and I went on Friday night and the spring was flowing. Took 9 minutes to fill a 5 gallon bottle. We did not move the pipe, we found last time when we moved the pipe it started flowing slower. You can see air bubbles coming from the bottom of the pipe making us think that perhaps the pipe has some holes in it. A friend of ours went Saturday night and said that it took 7 minutes to fill his 5 gallong bottles. Thanks for the info on Homesteadingtoday. Awesome, awesome information on springs!!

          2. Hooray, I went today based on this news. It is flowing the fastest I’ve seen in months. Was in and out of there very quickly. So happy to be drinking pure water again.

          3. Looks like someone may have worked on the pipe, we went Saturday and it took us a little over an hour to fill all our bottles, which were quite a few. I so love that spring and appreciate more now that it is working.
            Margo

  3. We always go to this spring every two weeks, love the water.  Last week the water was flowing very very slow!  Took 8 minutes to fill up a 3 gallon bottle.  Needless to say we were there over an hour to gather our water.  I have a new appreciation for the water since it took so long to gather it.

    1. Hey Margo,

      My wife and I just went there yesterday and we were there for 2 hours. One 6.5 gallon container took 22 minutes to fill. Is this normal for this time of year?

      – Justin

  4. Just found the spring love the photos, and all of the descriptions,  really helped me find it. The water tastes great, but I’m a little hesitant giving it to my young children. has anyone tested the water since the last posting a month ago?

    1. Hey Ciaotine. I know what you’re saying about giving it to your children. All I can say is my wife and I have been drinking it for about 6 months now and feel great!

  5. I went to the spring today and met some cool people filling their glass containers. A ranger was nearby and said he’d been drinking the water for 30 years, which was cool to hear. He said he sees people there all the time. We also met some other people there who had been drinking it for the past 2 years. 

    I guess don’t drink if your bottle falls into the water below. Hope you feel better Kingsarts!

  6. I have filled 6 5 gallon bottles from this spring 3 times, and the water tastes excellent. Unfortunately, on my 4th time, one of my filling containers dropped into the pond and I stupidly kept using it to fill the remaining bottles. The result was my family and I got a mild parasite infestation in our bodies. Now we’re taking wormwood tea, fresh ground cloves and black walnut tincture. Alas. 

  7. Just picked up a 6 gallon bottle from 
    http://www.better-bottle.com/ and filled up on our way back from Palm Springs. 

    It was super easy to find and nobody was there. The outside temp today was 42 and the water felt about that temp. I didn’t do any testing on it but it tasted amazing.

    I plan on getting about 6 six gallon bottles and visiting every few months for our water needs. 

    Next time I go I’ll send some water to be tested at http://www.ntllabs.com/laboratories.html and let you know what results I get.

  8. I must say, this was by far the best water I have had. I drove up from hemet today and was shocked how clear and crisp it tastes. I bottled up aa glass pickle jar full today but ill b back 4 more. I think I was the only black guy for miles 🙂

  9. Does anyone have history on this location? Where is the water source coming from? Why was it put near the road like this and who did it?

    Also anyone do any further testing?

    Looks like a real awesome location! 🙂

    Thank You!!

      1. It was a pleasure meeting both of you today also:) Great video by the way, spot on about the living spring water being ‘the way the Creator intended!’

  10. A friend and I dove to this great spring today and got to taste our first spring water ever, had no trouble finding the pipe. We will definitely be coming back. Water quality tasted much better than we expected.

  11. TDS not a big deal… Our average tapwater has the same TDS – and I bet its not organic, beneficial matter like what is in the spring water…

    Ideal Drinking water from reverse osmosis, distillation, deionization, microfiltration, etc..
    0-50 PPM

    Often considered acceptable range for carbon filtration, mountain springs or aquifers.
    50-140 PPM

    Average tap water.
    140-400 PPM

    Hard water.
    170 PPM or above

    Less desirable
    200-300 PPM

    Unpleasant levels from tap water, aquifers or mountain springs.
    300-500 PPM

    The EPA’s maximum contamination level.
    500 PPM

    source: http://www.waterfiltersonline.com/tds-sources.asp

  12. 08/01/2010. Found the spring water source right off the S. Fork San Jacinto River bridge. (Very close to the Lake campgrounds. FYI update, my TomTom GPS showed the location at N33.39860, W-116.40084. When I go back, I'm sending in a test sample of T.D.S. and T.O.C. to a lab for all you skepticals out there. Water is absolutely excellent and was somewhat already prechilled. I'm a RAW vegan and just crave spring water. If you love water, come and fill up on nature's gift of quenching. Cheers!

    1. Hey Stratslasher – thanks for your post – I’m not so much a skeptic as I am fond of accurate information….so I wonder if you ever got around to testing this water and if so, would you please share? IF ANYONE ELSE HAS TESTED OBVIOUSLY WE’D ALL LOVE YOU TO SHARE RESULTS – IF NOT, IF ANYONE KNOWS RELIABLE, COST EFFECTIVE TESTING PLEASE SHARE WHERE – WE’LL THEN TEST AND SHARE WHAT WE LEARN. THANKS TO ALL APPRECIATORS OF THE TRUE ‘NECTAR OF THE EARTH’!

      1. Hi Marc,

        I’m sorry. Last week I went back to the spring again and collected yet another batch. Only I forgot my testing vial. I’m using Ultimate Labs located in san diego to do the testing in Bioburden, TOC, conductivity, etc. Its sort of tricky to do this. Reasons are is because the sample must be ran within 24 hours or the sample can become altered. I plan on using a sterile vial and submit it in. So next time I go, I’m going to have to do it on a Sunday evening and then rush the sample to UL before I get to work. My company has used this vender before. I plan on going back to the spring maybe before Thanksgiving. I’ll make sure to get a sample again.

        Last weeks water was excellent. Very refreshing especially after that super hot following monday where it was 109F here in San Diego. Keep in touch as to let everyone know about this water. When I went last week, I saw another couple filling up BIGTIME!

        See you,
        aaron

  13. Filled up four gallons today! Delicious water – far superior to municipal or bottled. Yum!
    Just to clarify the location, the pushpin/coordinates on the map is the middle of the park at Lake Hemet. The spring GPS coordinates are @33.664494,-116.668220 (on the lake side of the road by the bridge over the South Fork San Jacinto River.)

  14. I just visited this spring with my family. A nearby fireman pointed out the overflow which is right next to the first bridge, like the description here says. The water tasted Amazing!! Can't wait to go back

  15. Me and a few of my Loved Ones have been drinking from this spring for over a month now and Love it. On our last visit we ran into some locals filling up. They have been drinking from this spring for decades and even have had the water tested at a city lab. The individual from the water district said ” where did you get this water. I have not seen water this clean in years!” We love it. The little eco system around this spring is beautiful. Vibrantly green lilly pads. It looks like it is the main source for the lake. A TDS of 141 is great! Home boy is trippin.

  16. Went Yesterday (4/6/23) and the spring is no longer there. There is a puddle and algea growing where the old spring was but no spigot is there.

    Very faint trail leading to where it used to be on the south side of the 3rd bridge after the lil Market there going south on that road.

    Read lots of good things, sad to see its not set-up at the moment. Hopefully they bring it back!

  17. Just went today, so sad to see only a puddle of green water where this great spring used to be. I’d Love to have this spring restored. Pray the waters returning!

  18. I hope people are able to get this spring running again. I have yet to try it. For now I will stick with the Carlsbad water, however, I am concerned they may be filtering it!

  19. Just updating in case anyone is checking in – I went by the spring today and no one has fixed it. There is still no pipe above water, so the waterflow is inaccessible.

  20. Sad to say the spring was vandalized. When we arrived at the Hemet Lake Spring last weekend, all the pipe had been torn out and thrown on the ground, and boards were everywhere covering what little water remained. Anybody know how we can get this spring back up and running? Let’s see if we can all pull together and get this sacred place restored! Thanks

    1. I am willing to help any way possible. I can research info on how to tap a spring and get back up.. Maybe water hole needs to be pumped out, dug out and new pipe installed

  21. I ran into a local who had been going to this spring for over 30 years. He said that it tends to stop flowing for a few weeks each year in September. I’m sure the severe drought is to blame for the longer no-flow time. I would anticipate the flow to return in October.

  22. I went back on August 18 and someone had installed a taller pipe (over a foot tall) at the output of the spring, which makes it impossible for any water to come out because there is so little water pressure. I plan to keep checking periodically, but until someone removes the new pipe (I was unable to do so) I doubt there will be any waterflow.

  23. Hi Symara and Wendy. Sorry I don’t know whether this has happened before; I’ve been going to the spring for only a year and a half, and it wasn’t this bad last summer. I’m not sure whether it’s because of the drought or if there is a leak in a pipe somewhere below.

    However, I went back on August 4 (a few days after a rainstorm) and the waterflow had actually increased a little bit. It was still very slow, though; there was a guy filling up and I think he said it was taking 15-20 minutes per 3 gallon container.

    As far as other nearby springs, I read that Mt. Palomar’s spring is dried up, so I have been going to Carlsbad as of late (both of these springs are listed on this site). They charge 70 cents per gallon and I have heard a couple of people mention the water does not taste quite as good as the water from the Lake Hemet spring. However, it does taste very clean, and the water-filling kiosks in Carlsbad are convenient and time-saving (although very strange for anyone used to a normal natural spring).

    1. The best water is from this spring! I have been going to Palomar, but the water is not the same. I prefer Hemet Spring. Is it running slow because of the pipe? I know before you could see air bubbles coming from the bottom of the pipe.

  24. Dear Kate, I have the same question has this happened before? also thank you so much for your information. I have seen water striped water snakes around the pipe also. They were pretty brave. hopefully the pipe will be fixed I wish I know the answer to this and could fix it

  25. The waterflow is down to just droplets currently. A couple of months ago, I replaced the metal pipe with a shorter plastic piece because the pipe was loosely fitted and the pressure was too low to push the water up through it. The pressure has gone down considerably since then.

    By the way, if the water returns, watch out for snakes at the spring. I have seen them very close to the pipe a couple of times this summer.

  26. Love This Spring……but went up there yesterday with bottles to fill and there is no water running out of it. So Depressing. If anyone has any info on this let me know…in the meantime does anyone have knowledge of another great spring nearby?

  27. Very sad to hear the spring has no water. We have been going to Palomar but I don’t like the water as much. It is not ice cold like this spring. I hope this is just temporary and that it runs again.

  28. Went to the spring today, it’s was plugged with a PVC cap no water flowing. I noticed that the galvanize steel pipe was replaced with a new copper pipe that is less than half the lenght as the old pipe. Will be looking for a new spring, this one looks like it’s out of business.

  29. Sent a email on June 24th no replies I would really love to go up to this wonderful spring this weekend if anyone has been or has repaired the pipe please let me know I would appreciate any replies if we need to get supplies to fix the pipe I would be willing to contribute.

    1. Hi Wendy, If you sent an email to us, sorry that we have not responded. We do not know the condition of this spring. Sorry we could not be more help. -Ashley and The Find a Spring Team

  30. We went there yesterday and the spring was barely flowing. 20 minutes to fill up a 5 gallon bottle. The pipe is very loose and looks like it is ready to break.

    1. any news on the lake Hemet spring the last time I was there it was not working PVC pipe wrigged up and no flowing water. Very sad any info would be appreciated

  31. I went out there with my GF in February and we filled 100 gallons of jugs and bottles. we are down to our last 20 and its getting dry. Been using it for smoothies and cat and food. Love it, even my garden loves it. Going for another 100 gallons here soon.

  32. Just filled my jugs this past week and tested for pH which came out as 7.0 rather than the alkaline posted in a previous comment. The water tastes great and the drive out is gorgeous!

  33. There’s a pretty big historical landmark sign at the turn off.
    It’s about .4 miles from the store by Lake Hemet if you’re heading East on 74 and about 8 miles from the 371 intersection if you’re heading west on 74.

  34. Wow! I am so excited to try this out! I have just relocated to Los Angeles from Oregon and with out McKenzie Mist water I find I am having a really hard time actually getting hydrated, regardless of how much water I drink.

    Its my birthday next week and my boyfriend is taking me to Joshua Tree. We are going to stop here along the way to fill up!

    Does anyone have a video of getting to this spring from the highway?

    Furthermore, do you guys know of any hotsprings in the area that we could go to?

    Thanks so much for your shared pursuit of clean and pure drinking water!

    Bless up yall!

  35. Hi. I am VERY interesting in getting some of this water to try. I am having a hard time finding directions online even when I click the Get Directions link. It brings me to a Target store! I live in Temecula, have disabling chronic illness and I’m thinking my body could use the energy from a natural spring! I used Google Maps and put in the coordinates but it says not found. Thank you!

    1. Hi Sonya,
      I just checked the spring ‘get directions’ link and it seems to be working fine. Once I clicked on it, it brought be right to google maps. Perhaps there was a glitch when you tried to use it. Hopefully if you click on it again it will work, also, you can try changing the browser you are using. Please let me know if I can be of further help, Happy Spring Water collecting to you! -Ashley Knight and the Find A Spring Crew

  36. Went to the spring on Saturday. Flowing really, really slow. It took 14 minutes to fill up a 3 gallon bottle. Also heard a rattle snake had been spotted by the wood decking, next to the bushes. Please everyone be careful.

How to Collect Spring Water

Drinking pure spring water is one of the most important things we can do for our health. Our bodies are over 99% water at the molecular level, so water affects every aspect of our biology. Yet, not all water is created equal. Almost all the bottled spring water available is pasteurized for shelf stability, which neutralizes many of the powerful health benefits such as increased hydrogen, healthy probiotics, and crystalline structure. For more about why unprocessed spring water is the best water to drink, read this.

The best way to guarantee you are getting real unprocessed spring water is to collect it yourself. This is a short and simple guide filled with information about how to gather spring water. We will cover how to find a spring, how to collect the water, how to honor the spring, how to store the water properly and other tips.

FindASpring.org is the best resource for locating a spring near you. However, not all springs are on the map. First, check the map to see if there is a spring in your local area. If there is, look at the reviews and comments. Has anyone shared helpful information about flow rate or posted a water test result? Is the spring in a pristine area? Do a bit of research and make sure the spring is safe to drink from. If you have any doubt about the purity, don’t risk it and get a water test, HERE. If you don’t see a spring on the map in your area, there still might be some that aren’t listed yet. First, ask the older generation who have lived in your area a long time if they know. You can also ask people in your community who might already get spring water such as people at a health food store or at a farmers market. Another great option is to view A US forest service map, where many springs have been marked. You can view these maps through the Gaia GPS or All Trails hiking apps on your phone. The map overlay you want is USGS Topo. Not all are easily accessible or ideal for drinking, but some are and it can be a fun adventure to find them. We have found over half a dozen great springs this way.

Once you’ve found your spring, figure out how you are going to gather the water. Is it right on the side of the road and easy to access or do you have to hike to it? We recommend storing spring water in glass instead of plastic to preserve the purity of the water. It is better for the environment, your body, and the water. Even BPA free plastic has toxic chemicals that can leach into water and cause health issues. If you do want to use plastic for safety reasons when filling at the spring, we recommend transferring the water to glass as soon as possible. FindASpring is sponsored by Alive Waters, which offers beautiful reusable glass. They have a 2.5 gallon option, which is a convenient size for carrying that isn’t too heavy. They also sell handles that you can use to transport the jugs even more easily. If you have to hike to access the spring, we recommend putting the water jugs into an extra large backpack to hike the water out with ease. We use Osprey packs that hold 2 jugs each. You can also use a wheelbarrow or even a stroller depending on how easy a walk it is.

Filling 2.5 Gallon Alive Waters Jug

When you get to the spring, remember to first give back before you take. Springs are considered sacred in indigenous cultures around the world for their life giving water and also as a connection to the inner earth. A powerful and simple way to give back is to clean up. Is there any trash that needs to be collected? Could you move any dead leaves or sticks to improve the flow rate? Show up in service. Some other wonderful ways to give is with a moment of expressing verbal gratitude, singing songs to the water, offering the water an ethically sourced crystal, a feather, or some other physical gift. Flowers are a popular and beautiful thing to offer, but please be careful to source organic ones as most flowers from the store are sprayed with pesticides and can be toxic to put near a spring. Also, flowers can attract bugs as they decay, so it can be best to offer them to the flowing water directly or a little downstream from the spring head.

When gathering the water, fill the jug as close to the spring head as possible, never gather downstream. Be very careful as wet glass is extremely slippery. Make sure the lid is securely fastened. When transporting the spring water home, the jugs can sometimes slide around the car. Secure them in place or wrap them with towels or something so they don’t crash into each other.

How you store your spring water is essential. It is not pasteurized like spring water from the store, so it will start growing algae if left in direct sunlight. This is good because it means it’s alive! If the water you drink can’t even support the most basic life forms, how do you think it will support your body? Store your water in a cool, dark place such as a dark corner, pantry or closet. The fridge is ideal if you have room. Some people prefer to filter their water through a Berkey filter before drinking, but if the spring is pure, it’s not necessary. We drink our spring water completely unfiltered.

How long the water stays good for depends on how cold a temperature it’s stored at. Spring water is best fresh. We personally do not prefer to drink spring water past 2 weeks old. However, we know other people that will drink it at a month old. It’s great to get in a rhythm where you know how long the water lasts you and put your collection day on the calendar in advance.

I believe that water is calling us to reconnect with her in the deepest way, to gather our own water. Just like our ancestors did. Our ancestors didn’t have fancy water machines. They also didn’t create villages or settle where there was no water. Water was revered as the center of the community and the nodal point around which life could spiral out and take root.

Here’s to restoring the sacred connection with the waters of life.

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