Bowling at Fireside Lanes in Citrus Heights

Painted Rocks Petroglyphs (Image source: Shereth)īefore the Spanish Conquest, the Inland Empire was home to several Native American nations including the Chemehuevi, Iviatim, Kuupangaxwichem, Maarenga’yam, Payómkawichum, Paiute, Taaqtam, Vanyume, and Yuhaviatam. San Bernardino Symphony, led by Maestro Frank Fetta, at the historic California Theatre (Image source: San Bernardino Symphony)Ĭultural institutions of San Bernardino County include the Inland Empire Harmony Carousel Chorus, the Redlands Symphony, the San Bernardino Symphony, Theatrical Arts International, and the Victor Valley Symphony. There’s also the 34-kilometer long Pacific Electric Inland Empire Trailconnecting Rialto to Claremont(as well as the Santa Ana River Bicycle Path). “Busy Bee” L.)Ĭyclists and pedestrians can utilize the Santa Ana River Bicycle Path, which when complete will stretch 135 kilometers from Redlands to Huntington Beach. Pacific Electric Inland Empire Trail – Rancho Cucamonga, CA, (Image source: Vuoch. Regional bus providers include Omnitrans and San Bernardino Express bus lines as well as Barstow Area Transit, Morongo Basin Transit Authority, Foothill Transit, Twentynine Palms Limited, Mountain Area Regional Transit Authority, Needles Area Transit, Orange County Transit Authority, Riverside Transit Authority, Victor Valley Transit Authority, and Greyhound. San Bernardino Transit Center (Image source: Janice Kuhn) Metrolink‘s Inland Empire-Orange Countyand San Bernardino lines serve several stations as do Amtrak‘s Southwest Chiefand Sunset Limited lines. Future transit plans include a Metro Gold Line extension from the current terminus in Azusa to Ontario and further down the line, California High Speed Rail. The Santa Fe Depot in San Bernardino, CA (Image source: Tony Hoffarth) Other general aviation airports include Apple Valley Airport, Baker Airport, Barstow-Daggett Airport, Big Bear City Airport, Cable Airport, Chino Airport, Hesperia Airport, Needles Airport, Redlands Municipal Airport, and Twentynine Palms Airport. San Bernardino International Airportis, despite its name, currently operating as a general aviation and cargo airport but is being remodeled to serve as an international airport. It’s hardly a busy international airport but Ontario International Airport is the county’s major hub of air travel. Ontario International Airport (Image source: unknown)

Naturally spacious San Bernardino County includes some pretty large attractions, including all of Mojave National Preserve parts of Angeles National Forest, Death Valley National Park, Havasu National Wildlife Refuge, Joshua Tree National Park, and San Bernardino National Forest and 35 National Wilderness Preservation System-designated wilderness areas (more than any other county in the US). San Bernardino Mountains (Image source: orange grove media ) Its proximity and mysteries are among the reasons that I, as an Angeleno, would like to further explore it and since I already wrote a Riverside Country Primer, here’s one for San Fernando which I hope will encourage readers to vote for the communities which they’d like me to explore.

The Inland Empire also has a fairly large population, about 4.2 million people, but in my mind, dwarfed as it is by Los Angeles County (the most populous county in the US by a landslide), the Inland Empire feels less like its own empire than a dominion or protectorate of the adjacent Los Angeles Empire. It is a large area - San Bernardino is the largest country in the entire US, larger, in fact than nine entire states (and 71 sovereign countries). With orange production a thing of the past, what makes it the Inland Empire empire-like isn’t immediately obvious. Pendersleigh & Sons Cartography‘s map of the Inland Empire - San Bernardino and Riverside Counties Before 1914 (the earliest recorded use of the term “Inland Empire”) the region was known as “ The Orange Empire.” Both San Bernardino and Riverside counties are inland - the nearest point in San Bernardino County to the sea is about 43 kilometers - but today their empire-like character is less obvious than it was in the days when they were important citrus producers.

San Bernardino County, along with Riverside County, comprise the Southern California region known as the Inland Empire.

Bowling at Fireside Lanes in Citrus Heights