Weekend trips from Cal State San Bernardino
Hidden spots near San Bernardino, day trips and weekend road trips from Cal State San Bernardino in November, scored 1–10 on price, timing and what's happening, with gas, park fees, a campsite or room and food included.
Plan your own trip from Cal State San Bernardino →Local finds near campus
Oak Glen
Apple orchards in the mountains above Yucaipa: pick your own and apple pie, September to November.
Mount Rubidoux
Riverside's sunrise hill, topped with a stone bridge and a peace tower.
California Botanic Garden
A garden near campus, found in OpenStreetMap.
Lake Arrowhead
A pine-forest lake an hour from campus, with the Heaps Peak trail and fall colors.
Ontario Peak
A summit hike near campus, found in OpenStreetMap.
Lake Perris
A swim beach and boulder-climbing at Big Rock, 25 minutes from Riverside.
Day trips
Palm Springs
Midcentury pool motels, palm oases in Indian Canyons and a rotating tram up the mountain.
Anza-Borrego & Borrego Springs
Giant metal dinosaur sculptures in the desert, wildflowers in spring and a dark-sky town.
Calico Ghost Town
A silver-mining boomtown on the way to Vegas, with a mine you can walk into.
Joshua Tree
Twisted trees, boulder scrambles and some of the darkest skies near LA.
Big Bear Lake
Snowboarding at the closest real ski resort to LA, or kayaking the lake in summer.
Los Angeles
Griffith Observatory over the lights, Koreatown at midnight and the Broad's mirror rooms.
Weekend trips
Salvation Mountain & Salton Sea
A hand-painted hill, Slab City's off-grid art town and the eerie shores of the Salton Sea.
Anza-Borrego & Borrego Springs
Giant metal dinosaur sculptures in the desert, wildflowers in spring and a dark-sky town.
Mojave Preserve & Kelso Dunes
Booming sand dunes that hum when you slide down, and free camping under the stars.
Joshua Tree
Twisted trees, boulder scrambles and some of the darkest skies near LA.
Death Valley
Salt flats below sea level, rainbow-colored hills and the darkest night sky in California.
Valley of Fire (Nevada)
Swirling red and pink sandstone, petroglyphs and the Fire Wave, an hour past Las Vegas.
Long weekends
Salvation Mountain & Salton Sea
A hand-painted hill, Slab City's off-grid art town and the eerie shores of the Salton Sea.
Mojave Preserve & Kelso Dunes
Booming sand dunes that hum when you slide down, and free camping under the stars.
Death Valley
Salt flats below sea level, rainbow-colored hills and the darkest night sky in California.
Valley of Fire (Nevada)
Swirling red and pink sandstone, petroglyphs and the Fire Wave, an hour past Las Vegas.
Kern River (Kernville)
Whitewater rafting through a granite canyon, a few hours from LA.
Alabama Hills & Lone Pine
Free camping among the rock arches where hundreds of westerns were filmed, under Mount Whitney.
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