The hook
The hill Riverside walks up for exercise is also where the country's first outdoor Easter sunrise service was held, back in 1909, and it still happens every year.
01Why it's worth it
Frank Miller, the man who built the fantastical Mission Inn downtown, bought this hill in 1906 and laid a winding road up it to a cross at the summit honoring Junípero Serra. In 1909 a visitor suggested holding an Easter service up there at dawn, and the sunrise gathering that followed was the first of its kind in the United States; it grew so famous that railroads once ran special trains from Los Angeles for it, and it draws crowds to this day. The rest of the year Mount Rubidoux is simply Riverside's hill, a paved loop that thousands of locals climb for the exercise and the reward at the top: a stone peace tower, the old cross, and a wide view over the whole Inland Empire, best at sunrise or as the city lights come on.
02How to experience it
It's just west of downtown Riverside, about seven hours from the Bay. The loop is a paved 2.7 miles, gentle enough for anyone, and free. Go early or near sunset to beat the heat and catch the light; the Easter sunrise service is the one time it fills. It pairs with the Mission Inn down the hill.