Page 118 - 2020 Travel Guide to California

CLAREMONT
Urban activity and small-town vibe earn college town an A
»EXPLORE,
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Claremont Visitor
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CLAREMONT VILLAGE, above;
sampling the vintage at Packing
House Wines, below.
AS HOME TO the seven private schools
that make up the Claremont colleges, Clare-
mont 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, bike-
friendly historic heart, is more idyllic East
Coast college town than typical Southern
California. More than 150 locally owned
storefronts house such shops as the vener-
able 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
B Y C H R I S T I N E D E L S O L
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 architec-
tural 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 Paleon-
tology. 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.
116 2020 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA
DISCOVER CLAREMONT