Directions to Downtown Riverside & Airport Transportation

GETTING TO RIVERSIDE

Welcome to sunny and beautiful downtown Riverside, California! Riverside is located in Southern California in the area known as the "Inland Empire," approximately 90 minutes from downtown Los Angeles or San Diego, and an hour drive to beaches, Disneyland, Big Bear Mountain, and Palm Springs.

Riverside was founded in the 1870s on the lands inhabited by the Cahuilla, Luiseño, Serrano, and Tongva peoples, and was once home to rancheros owned by Californios in the early 1800s. Due to the region's ability to grow abundant citrus crops, during the late 1800s Riverside was once the richest city (per capita) in the United States. Today, it is still home to abundant citrus crops, a multi-ethnic mix of inhabitants, a variety of historic architecture, the Fox Performing Arts Center, and the University of California, Riverside.

The closest airport serving Riverside is Ontario (ONT) - approximately 16 miles from downtown Riverside (~20-30 minutes by car). The largest airport in the area is the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), however it is 70 miles away (1.5 hours by car). Other local airports include Santa Ana (SNA @43 miles), Long Beach (LBC @56 miles), and Burbank (BUR @65 miles).

While there are public transportation options between these Los Angeles area airports and Riverside, the timing of buses and trains may be inconsistent due to the notorious Los Angeles area traffic. We do not recommend you rely on long-distance public transportation in the LA area.

Because of the long distances between most Southern California airports and downtown Riverside, we strongly encourage flying into Ontario Airport. Ontario airport has a number of different transportation options that can be found here, including shuttles, taxi services, and ride-sharing apps.