2024-25 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA 75
Settled in the 1840s, Louis
Robidoux's Jurupa Rancho property
eventually became a city park, the
MT. RUBIDOUX TRAIL AND
MEMORIAL PARK. West of
downtown Riverside, this local
favorite is some 3.5 miles of paved
trail ascending the 1,332-foot-high
mountain amid historical plaques.
The climb, lined with spring
wildflowers or views of the snow-
dusted San Bernardino Mountains in
winter, rewards hikers with
expansive Riverside valley views.
riversideca.gov/park_rec/
facilities-parks/mt-rubidoux
VIEW FROM THE TOP OF THE BIG BEAR LAKE, California, opposite; horseback riding in Temecula, below.
RIM OF THE WORLD SCENIC
BYWAY:
This 107-mile scenic
drive begins on State Highway 138
just west of I-15 at the
MORMON
ROCK FIRE STATION
. Travel east
on 138 to the
CAJON PASS
OVERLOOK
for breathtaking
views, then east to
SILVERWOOD LAKE
and the
Mojave River basin. 138 merges with 18 along the rim of the San Bernardino forest
and provides sweeping vistas of San Bernardino, Redlands and the Los Angeles
Basin. At
BIG BEAR LAKE DAM
, follow the road around Big Bear Lake to
MILL
CREEK RANGER STATION
. This tour can be done in four hours.
of Spanish and Moorish architecture,
adorned with priceless Italian and Spanish
treasures.
The San Bernardino County Museum in
the Hall of History explores local history
by exhibiting a covered wagon that crossed
the Mojave Desert from Salt Lake City.
Other halls include biodiversity, earth
sciences as well as desert gardens and
native plant gardens.
Family Fun
The fun begins with rides on the locomo-
tives and trolleys of the Southern
California Railway Museum in Perris. At
Tom's Farms in Corona, kids can mine for
emeralds and rubies, ride a pony, or board
the 1800s steam train. In the summertime
heat, take cool water rides on the Alpine
Slide's twisting curves at the Magic Moun-
tain Recreation Area in Big Bear Lake.
INSIDER'S TIP
DRIVE TOUR
