California Botanic Garden was absolutely beautiful! I loved exploring the different trails…read morethroughout the garden. There was so much nature and wildlife to enjoy along the way. We got to see bunnies, rabbits, turtles, and so many different types of birds. It was such a peaceful and beautiful experience being surrounded by nature. Whether you're looking for a relaxing nature walk, want to explore the trails, or enjoy a nice hike, this is a great place to visit. I definitely recommend coming here if you love nature and wildlife!

Claremont, CA This…read morebotanic garden has grown on me. There are so many varieties of California native plants and they do have a nursery that is usually open a few days a week but is closed for Summer and reopening in October, 2026. What I love about this property is the sprawling amount of walkway to take a nice walk. You'll find enough shade along the way but many parts are not shaded. The pathways are decomposed granite, concrete and or asphalt so it's like hiking in nature but without the dirt road or elevation gain. I also really love that it's not crowded here. It's also smack dab in the middle of nature so you will occasionally see wild animal poop on a path, cracks that have not been repaired, but none of that really bothers me. There are plenty of benches along the path and a restroom on one side of the property so plan accordingly. They used to have a nice gift shop here and novelties like hats, t shirts, children's toys, books are now displayed in a small outdoor kiosk near to where you check in. California Botanic Garden is a member of the American Horticultural Network of Gardens (AHS). So if you have an annual membership at one of the participating Gardens associated with AHS Gardens you automatically have access to visit all of the gardens in network, unlimited visits for no additional charge. It is nice being a member at one garden and having access to visit hundreds of gardens. Currently, 380 gardens participate in this Network throughout parts of United States and Territories of U.S.A., Canada, and Cayman Islands. https://ahsgardening.org/ahs-garden-network/ I copy and pasted the exerpt below from AI but it has been a treat to see the blooms and how they change color, specifically Native California Buckwheat which can be seen along many hills and roadsides in California. To observe how the plant changes and matures in different seasons is quite fascinating: "Native California Buckwheat flowers start out white (or pale pink/creamy) and transition through shades of orange, cinnamon, rust, and deep red-brown as they age and dry out into summer and fall. Flower Color Changes Fresh Blooms (Spring): Tiny clusters open up as bright, clean white or pale pink. Aging and Drying (Summer): As the weather heats up and soil dries, the petals shift into rusty orange, copper, and tan. Late Season (Fall/Winter): The spent flower heads mature into deep rust-red and chocolate brown tones across the hillsides." I truly enjoy seeing the change of colors on each visit, they are so bright and vibrant! Look for it, and you will find a lot of beauty in the varied California native plant foliage and blooms on this property. Visiting seasonally gives the best picture. For example, The 1000's of large Matilija poppies which resemble a crinkly giant sunny side up egg just finished peak bloom a few months ago. They will be back!

Cute tiny museum with nice staff!…read more I think entry is normally $5, but they're doing a "pay what you want", which can be anything. I think $5 a fair price considering the museum's size, though-- it's more or less just 3 rooms. To be honest, I didn't like this current set of exhibits that much, but that's probably just a matter of taste. It's also located near a lot of other cool stuff in Claremont.

Really enjoyed our visit here today. It is a gem in Claremont's downtown Depot -- the Lewis Museum…read moreof Art is small but packed with thoughtfully curated local and regional art. The historic train station setting gives it charm, and the rotating exhibits make every visit fresh and intriguing. Perfect stop for a creative weekend afternoon wander.

Wow what a hidden gem!! The Raymond M Alf Museum of Paleontology is tucked away in Claremont on the…read moreWebb school campus. Since it is a high school, you must show your IDs at the gate to be given a badge to get onto campus. The museum is closed Sunday-Tuesday. Wednesday -Friday from 11am-5pm, and Saturday from 11am-5pm. Admission Pricing (March 2026): $12 General $9 Youth/Senior $9 Student with ID FREE 4 and under FREE CA teachers, EBT & WIC cardholders This museum is 2 levels. The top is a chronological walk through history and the bottom level is more of a hands-on interactive play area for kids. We spent about an hour at this museum. We had so much fun exploring history. In order we went through the Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic periods. The fossils and skeletons were so fascinating. This would have been such a great spot for a field trip back in grade school. I had a lot of fun exploring history and taking selfies. Highly recommended for those who enjoy dinosaurs, fossils, or history!

Although small, it was well designed and I left more educated. $12 for entrance which was worth it…read more Parking is free but you need to talk to the parking security guard first since it's in a school.

How beautiful; a wonderful way to end a romantic evening. It does take time to sit and watch,…read more20-30min from actual start time, but is sooo relaxing to just think or talk quietly to a lover.

James Turrell Skyspace is in the Draper Courtyard, Lincoln and Edmunds Buildings, Pomona College…read more which is at the corner of 6th & College Way in the city of Claremont. It can't be seen from the street. You have to keep your eyes open while you search for this hidden site.  I went during the winter break so I parked in their restricted permit only parking lot which is located about 500 feet north of the Skyspace. Not sure if you can park there during the regular school year.  The light show starts about 25 minutes before sunset and ends about 30 minutes after the sun goes down. Also happens at dawn for a longer time period. There is polished, hard marble, long row banquette seating around the perimeter of this art installation to look up at the ceilIng with a square cut out to expose the sky above. There is a multicolour lighting system that tints the ceiling creating a color contrast to the color of the sky.  Depending on the color of the ceiling, the same sky takes on a subtly different color tone. Keep lookIng up, and your mind plays tricks on you so you start to imagine different colors especially along the edge of the rectangular hole.  Also, your perspective of the ceiling & hole changes so illogically the hole and ceiling meld into a unified whole.  I'm sure people will perceive the Skyspace differently due to their mood, physiology, upbringIng, etc. It's meditative, serene, calming. It's incredible like communing with infinity where there are no bounds at the same time so very personal connecting to your inner self.  Unfortunately, an ADHD family that couldn't shut up and stay still and a clueless young couple who didn't even look up at the Skyspace and blabbed throughout the performance ruined the meditative atmosphere.  When attending the Skyspace, SHUT UP, do some introspection, go deep into your psyche in order to find serenity & peace. Many of us Americans are so much into the hype and being "hip" that we lose sight of what gives us health and sanity. Being in a meditative state allows us to heal and recover from life's stresses and anxieties.  Even with the disruptions, I still got snippets of quality time. I can imagine how incredible this art piece would be if silence reigned.  5 stars for a transformative experience.

Absolutely amazing! It's such a gem in the area. I've visited 3 times now as a student at the…read morecolleges, and I'm enamored with the atmosphere, lovely staff, and phenomenal collections of works!

I always walked by this museum but never went in because I thought it was a private museum for…read morePomona College students. My family and I were standing outside one time and the security guard told us it's open to the public and it's free, so we walked right in. It doesn't have much exhibits but it's a great looking museum, and staff members have been friendly and helpful. You can take photos of exhibits as long as you're not using flash. Exhibits change every semester.

A small little college museum, located at the Claremont Village. Admission is free. Street parking…read moreis fairy easy to find. Pomona College Museum of Art is a small modern art space featuring mix of contemporary historical works. I am not sure how often the displays rotate, but it's a perfect 30mins - 1hour visit.

Beautiful, modern art space with a thoughtfully curated mix of contemporary and historical works…read more The free exhibitions are engaging and well-presented, and it's a great stop for a creative afternoon if you're into art and culture.

I rarely give bad reviews to museums, especially free ones, small indie institutions that are out…read moreof the way. But I was in Claremont yesterday for a b-day trip from LA and really wanted to visit Petterson Museum, I scheduled my day to make sure I'll have time for it since it's opened only Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays from 2 pm - 4 pm. Very restrictive. On top, it's a hard place to find, not far from downtown, but within a seniors community so you can go around in circles a lot. I held my phone the whole time for navigation and asked for directions from a guard driving around in a golf cart who was nice and helpful. After all this effort, we were happy to find the museum, cute building with Asian themed decor in front of it (perfect for Chinese NY celebrations). Well, it was closed, with a sign at the entrance. I was very disappointed, I wish at least they'd have posted about the closure on line. I'd call before my visit to make sure this place is open! 2 stars because I love museums and encourage everyone to visit them but otherwise, based on my experience, this review would have just one star rating.

This place is a little hard to find. The parking all around is reserved. We parked around the…read moreblock and enjoyed our walk in. Very beautiful grounds. We were approached by a very unwelcoming woman. She informed us that the museum is currently closed due to covid. She told us we should have checked before we came. We'll we seen that their hours on Yelp said they are open 2-4 pm Friday thru Sunday. We arrived on a Friday at 2:15 pm. The sign outside said closed. I let her know that Yelp is where we had checked for open hours. She seemed upset that we were even walking the grounds. Well we enjoyed our walk anyhow. I gave 2 stars because she was just that unwelcoming.

I'd say a solid 4.5! Free museum that's really small, but a huge section of the museum is closed…read moreoff for renovations right now. They really only have their two main exhibits, one of which is a history of Ontario and the other is about water conservation in Ontario. AC is really strong, clean facility, super nice staff... but honestly there really isn't much to see unless you're a local and really interested in your area's history. I think if they had their art exhibits open, it'd be an easy 5/5 despite being small because it is free.

A pretty nice local museum that has rotating exhibits. I came here on a weekend visit and it was…read morebusy here and there. People seem to just stop in shortly here, with a few people that stuck around longer to really take in the art. You walk in to the security desk and check-in with your location. They only need your zip code and you're free to check out the exhibit. There's about two museum security persons in the exhibit areas They don't really greet you, but they're there. I came in for their Chicana(o) art exhibit as well as their water exhibit. Both were good. They also had a special historical exhibit that features the history of the City of Ontario. That was an okay exhibit. Facility has some nice historical architectural feel. Kind of like some of the art deco styling in the L A. buildings. Parking lot is small, but you can also park on the street. Also just a very close walk the Ontario train station.

First about logistics if you haven't been here before (because we had difficulties):…read more - go to gate 17 at the fair ground. Not wherever Google takes you (to a sheriffs place?), Not gate 1 (if you call the listed number it says To go to gate 1 and proceed to the security but the security at gate 1 laughed at us and said the event was closed early and we almost turned around). Plenty of parking. Really cool to see a bunch of trains up close. You can climb aboard some. The kids really loved it. You probably could go through the whole thing in an hour or less. Everyone working there, maintaining the trains and working the store were friendly. This event isn't open every weekend but specific weekends only. Check their website or call the phone number (voicemail says the dates) before you head over.

Such a great free activity to attend with kids or family. Railgiants is only opened once a month…read moreand everyone that works there donates their own personal free time to keep this place up and running. You can tell everyone who volunteers there genuinely enjoys the train and the mesuem and are always happy to provide demonstration, the history, and explanations behind the trains. My kids love that they can ring the train bell and it's great way to kill some time on the weekend.

Came in for my husband's birthday to browse trading cards. Definitely a decent selection of Magic…read morethe Gathering cards. Unfortunately, they didn't have the card that he was looking for but he was super excited to find a Doctor Doom Magic the gathering deck box. The two staff members were super friendly and willing to answer the questions we had. Definitely close to us so I'm sure we'll be back.

Fun place for adults and kids to play video games. Love that there is a place for kids to have fun…read morein the middle of so many great shops and restaurants. It is close to the colleges, so the area feels very vibrant. The place also gives exceptional service. The selection of games and variety of machines was awesome too. We will be back as you can't beat the deal to play unlimited machines and stay out of the heat for a while.