NOS Events Center

The NOS Events Center is the home of the National Orange Show, a citrus fair that went national in 1911 and moved onto this land south of Mill Street in the 1920s. The orange fair still runs here every year. The grounds at 689 S. E St cover more than 120 acres, and the venue lists 150,000 square feet of indoor exhibit space plus a quarter-mile speedway. The Orange Pavilion, the biggest hall, holds up to 3,600 people.

For dance music fans, this is where Insomniac holds several of its Southern California festivals. Escape takes over the grounds at Halloween, Countdown runs across New Year's Eve, and Beyond Wonderland SoCal arrives in the spring. Festivals at this venue usually require you to be 18 or older with photo ID, but each one sets its own age and bag rules, so check the festival's guide before you pack. A festival here spreads stages across the open grounds, and some sets happen inside the exhibit halls, so you'll walk a fair amount between acts.

The train is worth a look. San Bernardino-Downtown Station is less than a mile from the gates, and for Beyond Wonderland, Metrolink sells a $25 weekend ticket in its app and runs late trains back to Union Station at 3 AM. If you drive, that festival offers free parking in lots around the grounds, plus free park-and-ride shuttles from the Tan and Purple lots. Coming north on I-215, take Exit 43 at 2nd Street and skip the Orange Show Road exit, which is kept for drop-offs and premier parking. Rideshare drivers go to the Big Lots lot off Orange Show Road and Arrowhead. Don't leave your car overnight, because it will be towed.

Read the rules twice. The venue's own list bans outside food, chairs, blankets and reusable water bottles, and only trained service animals get in. Beyond Wonderland allows an empty refillable bottle, so the festival's page wins on show nights. Expect a full search at the gate, and once you're in, you stay in.