weekender.
Weekend trips from UC Riverside
Hidden spots near Riverside, day trips and weekend road trips from UC Riverside 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 UC Riverside →Local finds near campus
Oak Glen
Apple orchards in the mountains above Yucaipa: pick your own and apple pie, September to November.
Cabazon Dinosaurs & the windmills
Two giant roadside dinosaurs from Pee-wee's Big Adventure, beside a valley of thousands of wind turbines.
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 Perris
A swim beach and boulder-climbing at Big Rock, 25 minutes from Riverside.
Lake Arrowhead
A pine-forest lake an hour from campus, with the Heaps Peak trail and fall colors.
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.
Mount Baldy
A 10,000-foot summit above LA, with a ski lift and a lodge serving chili.
Laguna Beach
Hidden coves, tide pools and the Thousand Steps beach.
Weekend trips
Anza-Borrego & Borrego Springs
Giant metal dinosaur sculptures in the desert, wildflowers in spring and a dark-sky town.
Salvation Mountain & Salton Sea
A hand-painted hill, Slab City's off-grid art town and the eerie shores of the Salton Sea.
Joshua Tree
Twisted trees, boulder scrambles and some of the darkest skies near LA.
Pismo Beach & Oceano Dunes
Drive or sandboard on the only beach dunes you can camp on, then clam chowder in Pismo.
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
Pismo Beach & Oceano Dunes
Drive or sandboard on the only beach dunes you can camp on, then clam chowder in Pismo.
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.
Las Vegas (Nevada)
The Strip's free shows, the Neon Museum's sign boneyard and cheap Sunday-night rooms.
Personalize it
Set your budget, how many friends are coming, your car (or no car: train and bus), and what you're into (hiking, beaches, camping, stargazing, food and more), and Weekender re-ranks every trip for you, with a day-by-day plan, directions and campsites.
Find my trips from UC Riverside →