California Citrus State Historic Park

Disappointed. I visited on a Friday when the visitor center is open and guided tours are scheduled. The visitor center—with its video, interpretive displays, and a knowledgeable volunteer—provided useful information. However, the guided tour didn’t happen because the guides are volunteers and no one showed up. The grounds outside the visitor center were a complete mess. The road from the park’s entrance to the visitor center was strewn with palm fronds. Palm fronds were also scattered across the parking lot, the visitor center sidewalk, and throughout the citrus and avocado groves. It looked like a hurricane had passed through and no one bothered to clean up afterward. I took a self-guided walk through the groves and found more types of citrus trees than I knew existed. However, the groves were also in poor condition. Interpretive signs were broken or missing entirely, large amounts of fruit were rotting on the ground beneath the trees, and many of the trees appeared not to have been pruned or otherwise maintained.

This park is a hidden gem in Riverside right off Van Buren Blvd. There are a variety of walking trails with art displays and informational boards about SoCal's citrus history, thousands of citrus trees to smell, a grass area with picnic tables, and so much more.

I used to come here about 50 years ago to pick oranges with our church. Can’t believe these orange trees are still here. It was nice to walk among the orange grove and smell the citrus and now they have avocado trees by the dozens. We came here in early February so the trees were full of oranges ready to be picked. It was Tuesday so there were hardly any people here except for the workers. Visitors center was closed. If you come here you won’t regret it.

Amazing park to visit during citrus season, lines of orange, lemon and grapefruit trees were laden with fruit. Beautiful views in and around the park. Visitor center closes at 4pm.

This was a very interesting hike in an area that was predominantly citrus groves many years ago. You should consider visiting if you are in Riverside California. There is a museum which was closed on the day I was there and the only reason I gave it a four. While you cannot pick the citrus, big fine, there is a stand at the exit that cheap. The fresh squeezed orange juice was fantastic.