4 Best Sights in The Inland Empire, California

Exhibits here explain the area's flora and fauna, and staffers provide maps and camping and hiking information. You can sign up for canoe and kayak tours of Big Bear Lake or naturalist-led tours of the Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve in spring and summer or snowshoe excursions in winter. The center is also the starting point for Cougar Crest Trail and the paved Alpine Pedal Path Trail. 

Founded in 1927 by Susanna Bixby Bryant, a wealthy landowner and conservationist, the garden is dedicated to the preservation of native California plant species. You can meander here for hours enjoying the shade of an oak tree canopy or take a guided tour of the grounds, whose 86 acres of ponds and greenery shelter California wild lilacs, big berry manzanitas, four-needled piñons, and other specimens. Countless bird species also live here.  Guided tram tours are offered the third Sunday of the month (reserve by the 15th of the preceding month).

The crown jewel of Riverside is the Mission Inn, a Spanish-Revival hotel whose elaborate turrets, clock tower, mission bells, and flying buttresses rise above downtown. Taking his cues from the Spanish missions in San Gabriel and Carmel, architect Arthur B. Benton designed the initial wing, which opened in 1903. Locals G. Stanley Wilson and Peter Weber are credited with the grand fourth section, the Rotunda Wing, completed in 1931.

You can climb to the top of its five-story spiral stairway, or linger in the Courtyard of the Birds, where a tinkling fountain and shady trees invite meditation. If a wedding isn't taking place, you can also peek inside the St. Francis Chapel, where celebrities such as Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, and Richard and Pat Nixon tied the knot before the Mexican cedar altar. Ten U.S. presidents have patronized the Presidential Lounge, a bright, wood-panel bar.

Docents of the Mission Inn Foundation, whose museum contains displays depicting the building's illustrious history, lead guided tours. On occasion, Friends of the Mission Inn ( www.friendsofthemissioninn.com) host silent movie nights with music played by the pipe organ in the Ball Room. 

What started as an apple shed has become a 14-acre fun park and plaza with eateries, a petting zoo, a candy store, a creamery, train rides, shops, trout fishing, gold panning, local artisans, archery, a cider mill, and more. Be sure to grab a fresh-baked apple pie from Apple Annie’s Bakery. Some activities are seasonal.