Riverside

Sixty miles east of Los Angeles, Riverside boasts a number of firsts, including Southern California’s first polo field and golf course. The city also gave birth to the California citrus industry, an entire empire built around the sweet and zesty navel orange. That storied past—which is on proud display—and a number of cultural attractions and ways to enjoy the outdoors here make it a city well worth visiting.

Things to Do in Riverside

You don’t need to go searching for signs of history in Riverside. Dotting the city are two dozen nationally registered historic sites and more than 100 city landmarks that commemorate the fruit hub’s flavorful evolution. Get a taste of it on the downtown walking tour, downloadable here or available at the Mission Inn Museum, Riverside Metropolitan Museum, and Riverside City Hall. 

Stop in at California Citrus State Historic Park to learn how citrus became king in Southern California. On a ranger-led tour, taste oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit that grow on the property. Look for more of the city’s citrus past in the Marketplace District’s packing houses and the manicured orange trees lining its downtown streets. 

Another fun outdoor destination here is Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Park, located within the southeast section of the city, where you can go hiking, biking, or horseback riding on trails of varying degrees of difficulty. The 3.5-mile Sycamore Canyon Park Trail loop is a good place to start, with its easy accessibility and broad vistas. Nature hikers led by the park’s Nature Center are offered on the first Saturday of every month.

Riverside’s Mission Inn Hotel & Spa

As Riverside flourished, a local family opened the Glenwood Cottages guest house, which later grew into the world-famous Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, the largest Mission Revival–style building in the United States. The inn’s guest list has included presidents Nixon and Reagan, film stars, and royalty. The unmissable block-long inn is adorned with flying buttresses, archways, courtyards, stained-glass windows, a bell tower, a circular wrought-iron staircase, a chapel with a gold altar, and is appointed with countless museum-grade antiques. Spend a night here—or two—or take the 75-minute tour, offered daily. From the inn’s rooftop, the 360-degree view includes nearby Mount Rubidoux, once owned by the inn’s founder. Year-round, the mountain beckons visitors to climb to its white-cross-topped summit. A paved, one-mile trail leads to the top. 

University of California Riverside Botanic Gardens

Riverside celebrates the new along with the old. More than 20,000 students at the University of California, Riverside, bring a youthful vibe to the city. Visit the campus to walk through the UCR Botanic Gardens, which comprise 39 acres of gardens, including ones for herbs, cacti, plants native to Ireland, and even a butterfly garden, as well as woodlands and other horticultural environments. Numerous winding trails and plenty of benches encourage visitors to slow down and savor the sights, sounds, and scents.

Riverside Museums

For an arts-oriented trip, visit the gallery, exhibition space, and film screening room at the Culver Center of the Arts, set in a renovated 1895 department store, and the neighboring UCR California Museum of Photography, one of the West’s best photographic museums. Also worth a trip is the Riverside Art Museum, housed in a building designed by architect Julia Morgan of Hearst Castle fame. Works by such artists as Marc Chagall, Shepard Fairey, and Takashi Murakami are part of the permanent collection, and local artists are represented in the rotating exhibits. On the adjacent block—and associated with the RAM—is The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture. This glittering museum, which opened its doors in 2022, features the comedian’s collection of over 700 works by established and emerging Chicano artists from the United States and Mexico. (Check out an interview with Marin on this episode of the California Now Podcast, and see how he handled his California Questionnaire.) Both museums offers art classes for kids and adults, as well as docent-led tours.

Riverside Nightlife

When night falls, check out who’s performing at the elegant Fox Performing Arts Center, a 1929 Spanish Colonial Revival theater that held the first public screening of Gone With the Wind. Before the show, grab a few eclectic starters (like Kung Pao Cracker Jack, a combo of fried peanuts, popcorn, and spicy garlic) and a pint of craft beer at popular gastropub The Salted Pig. Or go afterward to take advantage of the restaurant’s creative cocktails and late-night ramen special, served 10 p.m.–1 a.m.