California · 250 years of citrus
Three perfect days in citrus country
A slow road trip through the orange belt — the heritage groves, the grand packinghouse-era hotels, the farm-stand juice, and the 250-year story behind every stop. Closer than Palm Springs. Calmer than Vegas.
Start with the story
How an orange built
a region
In 1873 a Riverside homesteader named Eliza Tibbets planted two seedless orange trees sent up from Brazil by the USDA. They thrived in the dry inland heat — and within a generation the Washington navel turned dusty cattle land into the richest farm belt in the West.
Railroads, irrigation canals and refrigerated cars followed; growers banded together as the cooperative that became Sunkist. The groves you can still walk today are what's left of California's "second Gold Rush."
Read the full story
Mission groves
Spanish padres carry the first citrus seed north along El Camino Real.
The navel arrives
Eliza Tibbets plants the two trees that start the boom in Riverside.
Growers unite
The cooperative that becomes Sunkist reinvents how fruit is sold.
The heritage groves
A state park, grand hotels and farm stands keep the story alive.
Where to stay
Sleep inside the history
The citrus money built grand hotels and ranch estates. The best of them are still taking guests.
The Grand Mission Hotel
A turn-of-the-century landmark of arches, bell towers and citrus-era grandeur.
View the stay →
The Packinghouse Inn
A 1910s fruit-packing house reborn as a design-forward inn, exposed timber and all.
View the stay →
A Grove-Side Ranch
Wake up inside a working grove — pick your own breakfast off the branch.
View the stay →Where to eat & drink
Taste the belt
From hand-squeezed juice at a roadside stand to a long table set among the trees.
The Juice Stand
Hand-squeezed navels in a paper cup at the stand that's been here for decades.
Find it →
Dinner in the Grove
Seasonal menus served at a long table beneath the trees that grew the citrus.
Reserve →
The Citrus Diner
Order the Valencia pie and a marmalade to go. A belt institution.
Find it →See & do
Walk the groves
Historic sites, working orchards and the artifacts of the boom — all within an easy day's drive.
Citrus Heritage Park
A preserved working grove and the landscape of the boom years, open to walk.
Plan a visit →
The Label Museum
Hundreds of original lithograph crate labels — the billboards of the orange trade.
Plan a visit →
U-Pick the Groves
Fill a bag straight off the branch — peak season runs winter into spring.
Plan a visit →Plan your citrus-country weekend
The full three-day route, opening hours and the best season to go — all in one guide.