Claremont
Urban activity and small-town vibe earn college town an A
AS HOME TO the seven private schools that make up the Claremont colleges, Claremont isn’t exactly a well-kept secret, but Claremont itself, a city of 39,000 in the San Gabriel Mountains foothills 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, is a genuine hidden gem. It’s an easy day trip from LA, but Claremont’s diverse attractions and ideal balance of urban savvy and village atmosphere make lingering worthwhile.
The expansive views on Claremont Wilderness Park’s five-mile hiking loop make it one of the region’s most popular trails. But the once-sleepy city has built up an urban energy that offers diversions for any visitor.
More East Coast than Socal
Claremont Village, downtown’s leafy, bikefriendly historic heart, is more idyllic East Coast college town than typical Southern California. More than 150 locally owned storefronts house such shops as the venerable Rhino Records, Heirloom, the Cheese Cave and an array of day spas. The robust dining scene ranges from breakfast at Walter’s to the classic Italian chophouse Tutti Mangia. For a night on the town, there’s dinner theater, art-house movies, a variety of pubs and even a contemporary speakeasy.
The revamped Packing House, built in 1909 by the citrus industry, houses its own restaurants, live music, art and cooking classes and the Circus Studio, where aerial circus parties can be arranged and drop-ins are welcome.
Notable among the colleges’ cultural contributions are “Dividing the Light,” a sunset and sunrise display of changing colors at Pomona College’s Museum of Art (due to move to a new building and become The Benton this fall); the medieval-style Margaret Fowler Garden at Scripps College; and Claremont Mckenna College’s architectural standout Kravis Center.
Elsewhere in town, visitors can play instruments from around the world at the Folk Music Center and Museum, and view one of the nation’s largest collections of fossil tracks at the Museum of Paleontology. Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden displays the world’s largest collection of native California plants.
Get Your Kicks on Route 66
Tourists, who are beginning to rediscover Claremont today, once streamed through town on the legendary Route 66. Original buildings include Wolfe’s Market, the Old School House (now Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theater) and Tugboat Annie’s boat-shaped restaurant (now Sushi Maru). If you don’t treat yourself to Casa 425, Claremont Village’s stylish boutique hotel, stay at the Doubletree by Hilton for a nostalgia trip on the “mother road”—it was Griswold’s Inn back when Foothill Boulevard was Route 66.