Top 15 Things To Do in Fontana, California

Fontana's sightseeing tours stitch together high-octane motor culture, rippled industrial history, and surprising natural lookouts. From guided Route 66 drives and downtown mural walks to rooftop viewpoints where the San Gabriel peaks rise above sprawling orchards and warehouses, the city's tours highlight contrasts — past and present, asphalt and open sky. This guide curates 12 ways to see Fontana: self-guided loops, themed walking tours, family-friendly park circuits, and experiential outings tied to motorsport and local history.

Fontana sits at the geographic hinge between lowland river corridors and mountain reservoirs. While the city itself is inland and urban, it functions as a gateway to a surprising variety of water-based adventures: flatwater paddling in managed reservoirs, seasonal whitewater and river recreation downstream, family-friendly reservoir beaches, and day-trip access to mountain lakes and the Southern California coast. This guide focuses on how to plan those outings from Fontana—when to go, what to expect, and what to pack—so you can turn a hot valley weekend into a cool, wet escape.

Fontana's walking tours stitch together industrial history, suburban neighborhoods, and foothill edges. Short urban strolls, mural and heritage routes, and creekside greenways give travelers approachable ways to meet the city's past and its outdoorsy present.

Fontana sits at a crossroads of Southern California rail life: a commuter hub for everyday travelers and a front-row seat to one of the country's busiest freight corridors. Short, practical Metrolink rides offer an uncomplicated way to reach downtown Los Angeles or San Bernardino, while railfans and photographers come for the dramatic freight movements that roll through the nearby Cajon Pass. This guide focuses on train-centered experiences you can actually plan — from quick commuter hops to stakeout sessions where the thunder of locomotives becomes the soundtrack of the day.

Fontana’s boat-tour options are compact, purposeful, and rooted in the region’s relationship with its waterways—managed reservoirs and quiet pockets where the foothills meet the water. Expect short guided cruises, pontoon and small-boat charters, and operator-led wildlife and fishing outings that emphasize calm water, sunset views, and the surprising stillness of inland Southern California. This guide focuses on the boat-based experiences that are easy to pair with shoreline hikes, paddle sports, and local food stops—ideal for daytrippers and families seeking a low-stress way onto the water.

Fontana's unexpected mix of industrial grit, suburban edges, and mountain backdrops makes it a singular playground for photography tours. From dawn-lit rail yards and auto-racing silhouettes at the Auto Club Speedway to wildflower-carpeted foothills and snow-dusted peaks in the nearby San Bernardinos, Fontana invites a wide range of visual stories. This guide focuses on guided and self-directed photography tours that help travelers capture the Inland Empire's contrasts—urban textures, sweeping landscape vistas, nightscapes, and seasonal nature shoots—while giving practical, local-minded advice for planning shoots, timing light, and responsibly accessing locations.

Fontana itself sits squarely inland, but its location at the edge of the Inland Empire makes it a practical and surprisingly efficient base for surf day trips. This guide maps out the best nearby beachbreaks, point breaks, and surf-adjacent experiences you can reach from Fontana in a one- to two-hour drive—plus the logistics, seasonal rhythms, and packing details to turn each trip into a smooth, surf-focused day away from the city.

Fontana sits inland, but the promise of porpoising dolphins is closer than the highway signs suggest. This guide maps realistic dolphin-watching options for travelers based in Fontana—from short harbor cruises in Long Beach to full-day expeditions toward Catalina and the Channel Islands—plus what to know before you drive to the coast.

Fontana sits inland among the Inland Empire’s grid of freeways, but its proximity to Southern California’s best whale-watching ports makes it an unexpectedly good launch point for marine adventure. This guide distills the whale‑watching options reachable within a comfortable drive—harbor cruises, small‑boat pelagics, and island runs that chase migrating gray whales, summer humpbacks, blues, and seasonal orca encounters.

From low-slung industrial sprawl to sudden granite ridgelines, a short flight out of Fontana reframes Southern California. Air tours launched near Fontana thread the junction where urban grids meet mountain relief — giving passengers an immediate sense of scale: freight yards and highways shrinking beneath a sweep of pinyon and chaparral, the cleft of Cajon Pass, and the serrated summits of the San Bernardino range. Whether aboard a helicopter, small fixed-wing craft, or specialty scenic flight, this corridor offers dramatic seasonal color, geological context, and easy access to complementary adventures on the ground.

Fontana’s boat rental scene is compact, practical, and unexpectedly restorative — the sort of experience that pairs perfectly with a late-afternoon skyline and a cooler breeze off inland water. Whether you’re smoothing out into a paddleboard for the first time, guiding a tandem kayak through a protected inlet, or piloting a small rental boat for a family fishing outing, Fontana’s options skew family-friendly and approachable. This guide focuses on what to expect from local boat rentals: the terrain you’ll encounter, seasonal rhythms, simple safety and planning points, and how to fold paddling or cruising into a broader Southern California day of hiking, picnicking, or winery stops inland.

Bus tours around Fontana turn a short drive into a curated passage through Southern California’s contrasting landscapes: industrial heritage and highway lore give way to citrus-lined flats, whispering freeway corridors, and the pine-scented foothills of the San Bernardino range. These guided rides are for travelers who want context — the history of Route 66, the engineering that shaped the Inland Empire, and easy access to trailheads and overlooks without renting a car. Whether you’re after a short shuttle to a scenic trailhead, a historical loop that stops at classic roadside Americana, or a full-day mountain transfer, bus tours make the region approachable and relaxed.