The Hemet Maze Stone is a prehistoric petroglyph. It is just outside Hemet in Reinhardt Canyon, within the Lakeview Mountains, in Riverside County, California. On April 16, 1956, it was donated, along with 5.75acre of land, to Riverside County, by Mr. and Mrs. Rodger E. Miller. It is California Historical Landmark No.557. The government has installed two perimeter chain link fences around the petroglyph landmark, making direct appreciation, study or an unobstructed picture difficult. The surrounding land has been set aside for the protection of native plants and animals (with a warning that the “natural features may be hazardous”), and is at the end of California Avenue to the north of Highway 74 and east of Highway 215, near Hemet, California. According to a sign where the road has been blocked off to prevent people from driving closer to the Maze Stone, people with questions can call the Riverside County Parks Open Space Office at 909-245-1212.FeaturesThe "maze" consists of two rectangular boxes—one large and containing the other; centered. If one traces the patterns with different colored markers, one would find that between the boxes are two contiguous geometric patterns that resemble a maze. One "maze" is contained by the other on the left hand side.The swastika that appears in the lower left hand corner is not part of the original work as evidenced by a 1930s era photo featured in the Hemet Centennial calendar (featured photo of July 2010; available from the Hemet Museum located at the old train depot on the northwest corner of State and Florida). Swastikas were used in Native American art long before the symbol became associated with Adolf Hitler.
