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SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | JUNE 2026 9 By Karen Range, Resident Did you know that Hemet has a bat cave? No, it's not the home of Batman. It's where thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats reside. The bats are migratory and arrive in Hemet during the spring/summer months, May through June, and typically travel back to Mexico in the fall. The bats migrate south by October, although a small number might remain in Valle Vista year-round. Rather than an actual cave, however, the bats occupy a bat bridge. The bats swarm from under the Fairview Avenue bridge as it crosses the Bautista Creek flood control channel in Valle Vista. The bats hang out beneath the bridge and the nearby Mayberry Avenue and Florida Avenue overcrossings of the concrete channel. The bridge is described as a maternity ward with mothers and pups residing. Female bats only have one baby per season and those youngsters are ready to fly four to five weeks after birth. Males are off in bachelor colonies nearby, and many theorize they hang out in local caves (better known as bat man caves?). It is estimated that 20,000 bats make Hemet their California residence. Drew Stokes, a bat biologist with the San Diego Museum of Natural History, who is quoted in a Press-Enterprise article, believes that Hemet's bats are the largest colony anywhere in Southern California. The bats emerge in black clouds just after sunset. They take off in large groups from the west side of the bridge to feed for the night on insects. According to Drew Stokes, the Valle Vista bridges are ideal summer homes for the bats, due to the abundance of water and bugs in the citrus groves. Now, I am not particularly fond of bats. One night as I approached our front door, I saw a bat hanging there. I immediately shrieked, hurriedly stepped back, and called my husband. But the bat swarm, which does attract nightly watchers, has been described as spectacular. So, I think this phenomenon is worth seeing, even if you are not a bat lover. The Fairview Bridge is said to be the best place to see the bats because there is plenty of room to park and stand safely alongside the channel. The bridge is located on Fairview Avenue in Valle Vista, south of Florida Avenue, between Mayberry and Stetson Avenues. Here are the directions to the bat bridge: From Hwy. 74/Florida Avenue, turn south at the stoplight (public library on the corner) onto Fairview Ave. Drive one mile. The road crosses a dry flood control channel, and the bats roost under the bridge. Pictures of the bats can be found on the Press-Enterprise website. Go to https://www.pressenterprise.com/2014/07/26/ valle-vista-bat-colony-likely-is-southern-californias-largest/. Remember, the Hemet bats are a seasonal attraction, but this should be the perfect time to view the nightly swarm, for those who are interested. The Hemet Bat Cave