California Citrus State Historic Park

California Citrus State Historic Park preserves a piece of the landscape that once made Riverside famous. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the city was the center of California's citrus boom, and its navel oranges fed a national appetite for fresh fruit and helped create the Southern California image of sunshine and abundance. The story begins in 1873, when Eliza and Luther Tibbets planted two Brazilian navel orange trees at their Riverside home, and the sweet, seedless fruit proved so successful that cuttings spread through the valley and across the state. The park, which sits on the edge of town, keeps living groves of citrus trees so that visitors can walk among the rows, smell the blossoms in spring and see the fruit ripen in winter. Its purpose is part park, part open-air museum: to show what a citrus grove looked like, to explain the packing houses, irrigation canals and labor that sustained it and to remind visitors that the orange groves were once the engine of the regional economy. The setting is gentle, with lawns for picnics, shaded tables, a visitor center and views to the mountains on a clear day.

A visit is relaxed and self-paced. Walk the paths through the orchard, look for the different varieties planted in the groves, and visit the visitor center for exhibits on the citrus industry, the Gage Canal that brought water to the valley and the families who farmed the land. Interpretive programs and special events appear on the park calendar, so check ahead if you want a guided experience or seasonal activity. The park is good for photography, particularly in the soft light of morning and late afternoon.

Seasons give the visit its character. Spring is blossom time, when the groves smell of orange flowers and the air is thick with bees. Winter is harvest season for many varieties, when the trees are heavy with fruit and the colors are strongest. Summer is hot, so plan an early visit and bring water.

Rules about picking fruit vary, and you should assume the fruit belongs to the park unless a sign or staff member says otherwise. Bring a picnic and make a slow morning of it, since the shaded lawns are one of the nicest picnic spots in town.

The park is a good fit for families with small children, who can run on the grass and learn where an orange comes from, and for anyone interested in California history or agriculture. It is not a thrill-ride destination, and the pleasure is in the quiet and the story.

Pair it with a visit to the downtown area to see the Mission Inn, which was built on the wealth that citrus created, or with the Tibbets heritage sites in the city. The nearby UC Riverside Botanic Gardens provide another green setting if you want to stretch the day.

Facilities include parking, restrooms, picnic tables and paths that are mostly level. Fees apply for parking, and hours and events change through the year, so consult the state parks page for current information. Riverside is about an hour from Los Angeles and Orange County, and a morning in the groves followed by lunch downtown makes a pleasant, easy half day.