V-Day in LA

February 6, 2011 4:40 PM

I'd like to do something cool with my wife for Valentine's Day. Difficulty: we'll be away from our home base in Riverside, CA (near Los Angeles).

Turn-ons include nature/hiking/beaches and culture of all types: film, theater, music, history, art. We're pretty open-minded when it comes to cuisine, though we're both vegetarians. Hit me with all your best ideas! Thanks.

posted by gerryblog to travel & transportation around Los Angeles, LA (4 answers total)

The Mission Inn in Riverside is beautiful if you are looking to see something historic in the area perhaps for dinner.

For hiking, the Santa Rosa Plateau in Murrieta is an ecological preserve about a half hour south of Riverside and a world away from the suburbs that lurk so close. Gorgeous countryside and 40 miles of trails.
posted by cecic at 5:07 PM on February 6, 2011

During the Super Bowl may not have been the best time to ask. But thanks cecic! That sounds really good.
posted by gerryblog at 6:49 PM on February 6, 2011

From Riverside you're about 1.5 hours from Big Bear, where it's cold and snowy, if a day in the snow/skiing/sledding, etc sounds good. You've got the San Bernardino National Forest close by. And the CA Museum of Photography is right there in Riverside.
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:56 PM on February 6, 2011

Yep, you probably want the Mission Inn if you're in Riverside for Valentine's Day.

If you want a little nature without leaving Riverside itself, the UCR Botanic Gardens are quite nice. Or, if you'll be downtown for the Mission Inn anyway, you could climb Mount Rubidoux for a great view of the city.

I'd have suggested checking into the Fox Theater too, but looking at their current calendar, it seems like the only show on their schedule anywhere close to the right time is Burt Bacharach on the 12th. (Hey, they just reopened a year ago, hopefully with time they'll...be a more consistent draw for acts.) But I'll leave the link here anyway in case it's useful to someone else in future.
posted by sigmagalator at 8:46 PM on February 6, 2011