Riverside

No reviews yetCity California, United States

Write a review Things to do Businesses Add photos

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS JR. HIGH SCHOOL RIVERSIDE COUNTY CA, California

Victorian Historical House, Riverside, California

About Riverside

Riverside was founded in 1870 by John W. North and a group of settlers who dug canals from the Santa Ana River to water the dry valley. In 1873 Eliza Tibbets planted two seedless navel orange trees from Brazil here, and their fruit launched California's citrus industry. One of those parent trees still grows in the city, and by the 1890s Riverside was said to be one of the richest cities per person in the country.

The wealth of the orange boom shows in the Mission Inn, a sprawling hotel that grew from 1903 into a fantasy of Spanish, Mission and Moorish architecture, with chapels, courtyards and a famous collection of bells. Downtown also has the Riverside Fox Performing Arts Center, the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art, the Museum of Riverside and a memorial to the city's historic Chinatown.

Above the city rises Mount Rubidoux, crowned by a cross and a peace tower and loved for its sunrise views and walking paths. California Citrus State Historic Park preserves working groves, the University of California, Riverside has a lovely botanic garden, and each winter the Mission Inn glows with millions of lights for the Festival of Lights.

Best seasonOctober to May; late November to early January brings the Festival of Lights, while summers are hot.

Ideal stayOne to two days for the Mission Inn, downtown museums, Mount Rubidoux and the citrus park.

ArrivingOntario International Airport is about 25 minutes northwest, and Metrolink and Amtrak trains stop in Riverside.

Why People Love Riverside: 12 Things to Discover

Landmarks 1

Mission Inn

Filling an entire downtown block, this extraordinary hotel grew from a small adobe boarding house in the 1870s into a rambling fan...

Events 1

Mission Inn Festival of Lights

Each holiday season, from the end of November into early January, downtown Riverside transforms around the Mission Inn into one of...

Entertainment 1

Riverside Fox Performing Arts Center

Opened in 1929, this Spanish Colonial Revival movie palace is famous in film history as the place where Gone with the Wind had a s...

Museums 3

Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art

Known locally as The Cheech, this museum opened in 2022 in Riverside's former main public library, a mid-century building remodell...

Riverside Art Museum

A short walk from the Mission Inn, this museum occupies a graceful 1929 Mission Revival building designed by Julia Morgan, the pio...

March Field Air Museum

Set beside March Air Reserve Base, one of the oldest military airfields in the western United States, established in 1918, this mu...

History 3

Chinese Memorial Pavilion

This small pavilion in the downtown civic area honours the Chinese immigrants who helped build Riverside in the late nineteenth an...

California Citrus State Historic Park

On the southwest side of the city, this state park preserves working groves to tell the story of the citrus boom that made Riversi...

Parent Navel Orange Tree

Fenced and carefully tended at a busy intersection of Magnolia and Arlington Avenues stands one of the most important trees in agr...

Hikes 1

Mount Rubidoux

This rocky granite hill rises beside the Santa Ana River on the west edge of downtown, crowned by the Serra Cross and the World Pe...

Parks 1

UC Riverside Botanic Gardens

Climbing the rugged hills on the east side of the university campus, these 40-acre gardens hold several thousand kinds of plants f...

Nature 1

Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Park

On Riverside's south-eastern edge, this rugged park protects around 1,500 acres of coastal sage scrub, rocky hills and seasonal cr...

Businesses in Riverside

See all businesses →

Top-rated local businesses in Riverside, with real reviews on WiserMap.

Skylight Contractor

Inland Empire Skylights

5.0(2)

4631 Hedrick Ave #202, Riverside

View profile Website ↗

Appliance Repair Service

Appliance Repair

4.0(4)

360 E Alessandro Blvd, Riverside

View profile Website ↗

Auto Repair

All Tech Auto Repair

5.0(5)

8651 Indiana Ave Ste O. & N, Riverside

View profile Website ↗

Roofing Repair

Frontline Roofing

5.0(4)

3845 Stobbs Way Suite E, Riverside

View profile Website ↗

Reviews

No reviews yet. Been to Riverside? Be the first to share your experience.

Write a review

Share what you loved, what to skip and tips for other travelers.

Share your photos

Been to Riverside? Add your best shots to the gallery.

More places in California

Yosemite National Park

California, United States

San Diego

California, United States

Napa Valley

California, United States

San Jose

California, United States

Big Sur

California, United States

Carmel-by-the-Sea

California, United States

Joshua Tree National Park

California, United States

San Francisco

California, United States

See all places in United States →

Photo credits

Photo: Ken Lund, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ, M.D., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Qwerty510 at English Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Marx01 at English Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Denbee27, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Josiah.r.white, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Photo: Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Mary from Southern California, U.S.A., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Photo: michael from California, USA, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: inkknife_2000 (7.5 million views +), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: Bahugala, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Photo: OvertAnalyzer, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: 3Kathleen3, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Tomás Del Coro from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: ERIC SALARD from Paris, FRANCE, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: MissionInn.Jim, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Riverside2018, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Blervis, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Photo: Eric T. Gunther, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Photo: Josiah.r.white, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Photo: Riley Mayuga, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Sam Boulton Sr., Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: rococohobo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: MissionInn.Jim, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Rick Sidwell, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: Matthew Mendoza, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo: Pabs D, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0