San Timoteo Canyon, Natural canyon and valley system in Southern California, United States.
San Timoteo Canyon is a natural valley and canyon system extending across Riverside and San Bernardino counties in Southern California. A creek runs through the canyon northwestward toward the Santa Ana River, carving through layered rock formations.
The canyon served as a winter home for the Serrano people before becoming connected to Mission San Gabriel Arcángel's ranch operations around 1819. This transition reflected the shift from Native American land use to Spanish colonial influence in the region.
The San Timoteo Canyon Schoolhouse from 1883 operates as a museum, receiving National Register of Historic Places status in 2001.
The area offers hiking trails where visitors can observe native California wildlife and plants in natural settings. Exploring is best during cooler months when trails are readily accessible and temperatures remain comfortable.
Construction workers uncovered Pleistocene-era fossils in 2010, including remains of two sabretooth cat species and large ground sloths. These discoveries reveal that the canyon once harbored diverse ice age animals hundreds of thousands of years ago.
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