San Bernardino

San Bernardino is the largest city of San Bernardino County. The 2000 census shows the population to be 185,401. Of this, 45.2% are white and 16.4% are African-American. 27.1% is cited as "some other race", the majority of which is most likely Hispanic. The city, along with its outlying areas, has a large Hispanic and Spanish-speaking population. 40.4% of the population speaks a language other than English at home.
Recent decades have not been kind to San Bernardino. The closure of the Kaiser Steel facility in nearby Fontana in the 1980s and the closure of Norton Air Force Base in 1994 were cataclysmic to the economy of the city. Repeated attempts at downtown revitalization have been mostly unsuccessful. In 2012 the city declared bankruptcy in the wake of a stubborn economic decline. The city was further devastated by a mass shooting by terrorists that took place in 2015.

By plane

• San Bernardino International AirportThe airport is accessed from I-10 at Thompson Rd at Exit #74 and from I-215 at Mill Ave, Exit #42B from the southbound lanes and from Inland Center Dr at Exit #42A from the northbound lanes. Alas there is a passenger terminal for both international and domestic traffic but there are no regular commercial or charter flights at present. The airport is used for general aviation, aircraft testing and maintenance; and a base for the US Forest Service to deploy aircraft to fight nearby forest fires. The next nearest airport for regular commercial flights to San Bernardino is the LA/Ontario International Airport (), west on I-10 and N Archibald Ave (Exit #55A). LA/Ontario is more compact, less crowded, has fewer delays, and usually cheaper and closer in than Los Angeles International Airport() which is away. The next closest airports to San Bernardino are in Palm Springs () which is east along I-10 and Santa Ana () also southwest of San Bernardino along I-215 and CA Hwy 91 through Riverside and Corona.

By train

The MetroLink San Bernardino Line from the downtown Los Angeles Union Station (via Rialto and Fontana) and the Inland Empire-Orange County Line from Oceanside through Orange County and Riverside stop at at 1170 W 3rd St (second to last stop). The cost of tickets varies depending on how far you are traveling. Amtrak serves San Bernardino at the same location with the once daily Southwest Chief line between Chicago, Kansas City, Albuquerque, Grand Canyon (at Williams Jct) and Los Angeles and with the Amtrak Thruway Buses connecting San Bernardino to the San Joaquins Line in Bakersfield. From here the Metrolink Trains continue southeast to the south of downtown, along W Rialto St between S 'G' St and S 'E' St, where both Metrolink routes terminate at. The Amtrak train continues north to Victorville (next stop) from the Santa Fe Depot on its journey towards Chicago.

By bus

Intercity bus services

The intercity bus companies maintain separate stations or stops in different parts of town and are far away from each other. Some of the stops are in neighboring Fontana or Ontario instead:

• El Paso Los Angeles Limousine Express

  phone: +1 909 824-8424
  address: depot at 620 W Mill St
  Travels along I-10 between Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Indio, Phoenix, Las Cruces and El Paso on one route and on I-15 to Las Vegas and North Las Vegas on another route. They have additional depots at 11825 Valley Blvd in El Monte; 260 E 6th St St in downtown Los Angeles, and at 4425 S Atlantic Blvd in East Los Angeles.

• Flixbus

  address: bus stop next to John's Burgers at 1155 W 2nd St

• Greyhound & Cruceros USA

  phone: +1 909 884-4796
  address: bus station at 596 N 'G' St
  Greyhound travels primarily on Interstate 10 (Los Angeles-San Bernardino-Phoenix-El Paso-San Antonio); I-10/SR-78/SR-86 (San Bernardino-Indio-El Centro-Calexico); I-15/I-215 (Las Vegas-San Bernardino-Los Angeles & San Bernardino-San Diego on two separate routes. Some routes bypass San Bernardino between Barstow & Los Angeles); & 405/SR-91 (San Bernardino-Santa Ana-Long Beach). Passengers transfer in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego, Calexico, El Paso and San Antonio to continue to additional destinations in the U.S. and in Tijuana or Mexicali to continue south of the border.

• Autobus los Paisanos

  phone: +1 909 822-7777
  address: Agency at 1603 Valley Blvd. Suite C in Fontana
  Travels along I-10 between Los Angeles and El Paso via El Monte, Ontario, Fontana. Some of their buses go up along I-15 to Las Vegas from Ontario. They have additional depots at 11635 Valley Blvd in El Monte and 612 Wall St in downtown Los Angeles. Crosses into Mexico via El Paso/Cd Juarez.

• D&M Fiesta Travel

  phone: +1 909 424-1680
  address: 1016 E Cooley St, Ste E2, Colton 92324
  Ticket agency for bus travel on Tufesa and Intercalifornias and air travel to Mexico, Central America and South America.

Regional transit agencies

The following services provide rides to the surrounding cities in the Inland Empire (San Bernardino and Riverside Counties) from the Downtown Transit Center next to the Downtown Metrolink Station:

• OmniTransOperates local city and commuter buses in-town and to the neighboring cities of Fontana, Rialto, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, etc. Connections to Foothills Transit in Pomona, Chino and Claremont

• Mountain Transit

  phone: +1 909 878-5200
  Goes up to Crestline by Lake Arrowhead on the RIM Off the Mountain route and to Running Springs and Moonridge by Big Bear Lake. They offer local services between communities surrounding Lake Erwin, Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake on the Big Bear Off the Mountain route and connections from Victorville through Moonridge

• Pass Transit

  phone: +1 951 769-8530
  A cooperative to provide local public transportation to the Cities of Beaumont and Banning. Route #120 connects Beaumont to Calimesa, San Bernardino Transit Center, San Bernardino Metrolink Station and Loma Linda.

• Riverside Transit Rt#200 (RTA)Operates local buses in and around Corona, Riverside city, Beaumont, Banning (Rt #31), San Jacinto and other cities in western Riverside County. The #200 bus connects Anaheim to San Bernardino via Riverside along Hwy 91.

• Victor Valley Transit (VVTA) RT#15 B-V Link

  phone: +1 760 948-3030
  Regular commuter route route to Rialto, San Bernardino and Fontana from Barstow and Victorville.

The city is fairly navigable with I-210, I-10, I-215, and I-15 as the freeways in the city.

• Site of the first McDonald Brothers Hamburger Stand

  phone: +1 909 885-6324
  address: 1398 North 'E' St
  Location of the world's first McDonald's, now an unofficial museum. The original building no longer exists, but look for the huge red sign advertising 15 cent hamburgers which can't be purchased in the adjoining museum.

• Downtown San BernardinoDefinitely a neat place to check out. Recently revamped with angled parking, festivals, new stores, lower speed (vehicles) and more street appeal, this place is a hit! It is a very lively core with all kinds of stuff to do and lots of parking despite not being shown. It incorperates beautiful, generous wall to wall structures along with scenic landmarks.

• Happy Family Vegetarian Restaurant

  address: 2150 South Waterman Ave
  It specializes in vegetarian and vegan meals, and is often packed.

• Lotus Garden

  address: 111 E Hospitality Lane
  It has exceptionally good Chinese and Cantonese cuisine, with a fancy sit-down atmosphere, lots of vegetarian options for relatively low prices (most meals under $15).

• Mitla Café

  phone: +1 909 888-0460
  address: 602 N. Mt. Vernon Ave.

• America's Best Value Inn & Suites (Red Lion)

  phone: +1 909 888-6575
  address: 395 N 'H' St

• Best Western Hospitality Lane

  phone: +1 909 381-1681
  address: 294 E Hospitality Ln

• Days Inn

  phone: +1 909 881-1702
  address: 1386 E. Highland Ave

• Economy Inn

  phone: +1 909 888-5775
  address: 685 W 6th St

• Hills Garden Hotel

  phone: +1 909 880-8425
  address: 2000 Ostrems Way

• All Star Lodge

  phone: +1 909 885-0055
  address: 450 North G St

• Econo Lodge

  phone: +1 909 884-4488
  address: 606 N 'H' St

• Motel 6 San Bernardino Downtown

  phone: +1 909 763-2561
  address: 777 W 6th Ave

• Motel 6 San Bernardino North

  phone: +1 909 887-8191
  address: 1960 Ostrems Way

• Motel 6 San Bernardino South

  phone: +1 909 825-6666
  address: 111 West Redlands Blvd

• Wigwam Motel

  phone: +1-909-875-3005
  address: 2728 W. Foothill Blvd.
  Novelty motel established 1949 with each room as a free-standing concrete wigwam. Wi-fi, refrigerator, A/C, cable TV, telephone, outdoor pool, picnic area.

Consulates

Most of the foreign consulates are located along Wilshire Blvd in/around the Wilshire neighborhood and West Los Angeles, between downtown and Santa Monica in Los Angeles. The following countries maintain consulates in downtown San Bernardino:

• Guatemala

  phone: +1 909 572-8800
  address: 333 N 'D' St
  They also have another consulate in Los Angeles.

• Mexico

  phone: +1 909 889-9836, +1 909 889-9837, +1 909 633-1982 (emergencies only)
  address: 293 N 'D' St
  They also have consulates in Calexico, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Santa Ana and San Diego.

San Bernardino is a good launching point for Joshua Tree National Park.