Claremont is rife with opportunities for family fun. From mountain biking and horseback riding to playing musical instruments and admiring cool fossils, families will find afternoons-full of exciting activities in and around the city.
California Botanic Garden
The 86-acre California Botanic Garden (formerly Rancho Santa Ana) is the largest botanic garden dedicated exclusively to California’s native plants. Families can explore the multi-level garden to view more than 2,000 taxa of California plants spread, including plants native to the California Floristic Province as a whole – from southern Oregon to Baja California. The Garden offers special exhibits geared to the entire family.
The Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology
Families can discover various types of fossils at The Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology, the only nationally accredited museum in the USA on a high school campus. The museum highlights life forms from four major eras of geologic time: Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic and houses a unique fossil track and trackway collection that is among the largest of its kind in the United States. Visitors are also able to see the inner workings of a paleontology museum through window cut-outs, which provide a view of the fossil preparation lab and a collections storage room.
Folk Music Center Store and Museum
Music-loving families can peruse and play a wide variety of musical instruments at the famous Folk Music Center Store and Museum , owned by the family of Grammy-winning, singer-songwriter Ben Harper. The museum portion of the shop houses a collection of rare and antique musical instruments and artifacts from around the world. Classes and workshops are offered for nascent musicians.
Claremont Packing House
At the Claremont Packing House, the Young Chefs Academy and Studio Claremont, provide hours of hands-on learning for kids. Young Chefs Academy offers cooking classes to children in a safe learning environment that encourages discovery and creativity. Studio Claremont offers art classes and activities for kids of all ages. Pilates Studio M has added unique aerial circus classes that kids may participate in with advanced reservations.
Claremont – A Bicycle Friendly Community
Families can also enjoy a leisurely bike ride through Claremont. At just 14 square miles, the city is easily navigated on bicycle, and Claremont takes great pride in being a leader in providing bicycle-friendly initiatives for visitors. The Claremont Hills Wilderness Park has an additional 10 miles of mountain bike trails and five miles of shared use pathways.
Horseback Riding
Horseback riding at Marshall Canyon Equestrian Center just north of the city includes opportunities for guided trail rides and pony rides for youngsters.
