Well known in California for lying along the world-famous Route 66 – surely one of the most iconic roads on the planet – San Bernardino is a city that loves to celebrate its connection to the highway and automation in general.
Yet, it’s also somewhere that’s particularly blessed by the natural beauty that surrounds it, sitting, as it does, at the base of Southern California’s spectacular mountain ranges and at the tip of the Mojave Desert, which itself offers many a majestic vista. Moreover, being the largest city in the Inland Empire region, San Bernardino is packed full of attractions for every kind of visitor to hotels in California…
Glen Helen Regional Park
Within its sprawling 1,340 acres of prime Californian beauty, lying in the Cajon Pass between the San Gabriel Mountains and San Bernardino itself, this park is perhaps most renowned for its water-features, including a must-visit lagoon, waterslides and a safe, zero-depth water playground that’s ideal for visitors of all ages, as well as two lakes that are just perfect for fishing – and catching terrific local fish species, such as bass, catfish and trout.
Plus, for those wanting to take advantage of our Good Nite Inn booking code (but who are perhaps a little less enamoured by water-based attractions), the park’s also home to the San Manuel Amphitheater. Boasting a mighty 65,000 capacity, this venue’s often called on to host a wide array of concerts throughout the calendar year.
McDonald’s Museum
Did you know that it was right here in San Bernardino that Dick and Mac MacDonald opened the very first MacDonald’s 80 years ago? Calling it ‘MacDonald’s Barbecue Restaurant’, the eatery that would go on to spawn an all-conquering global empire first opened its doors way back in 1940 and, as such, is today a rightly heralded and much-visited museum that’s brimming full of period memorabilia (including prototypes of McDonald’s products and packaging), helping to tell the origin story of this most endurable of fast-food brands.
Perris Hill Park
If visiting MacDonald’s Museum has made you peckish, then why not head out here, one of the city’s most beloved parks? What with its many numerous barbecue pits, it’s the absolutely ideal place to enjoy some al fresco dining with family and friends (staying with you, no doubt, at Good Nite Inn Redlands).
Boasting a total 64 acres of grasslands and rolling hills, the park’s not just a great spot for barbecuing and picnicking, but it’s also blessed with children’s playgrounds, tennis courts, a swimming pool and a baseball diamond for those fond of physical fun come the spring and summer months.
Route 66 Rendezvous Festival
Finally, because the current pandemic won’t be with us forever, we also feel it’s worth detailing the aforementioned occasion when San Bernardino throws itself, annually, into celebrating the wonderful Route 66’s illustrious history, thanks to its very own – and hugely popular – Route 66 Rendezvous Festival.
An event that always attracts people from far and wide (not least those booked into AAA hotels Redlands CA), it plays host to a perennial parade of classic cars motoring through the city, in addition to live entertainment, including musical performances and dancing, and street food vendors, who do a roaring trade vending highly tasty bites aplenty.
2 Jul, 2020
