Birding spots · California

Best Birding Spots in Riverside County, California

San Jacinto Wildlife Area leads Riverside County's birding spots with 237 species reported, best in fall. 174 spots in the county have enough data to rank.

Species counts are birds reported at least three times in that season at that spot, 2016–2025. Busy spots list more species simply because more people look, so compare the checklist counts. Spot names come from public map data and hotspot listings.

Spot	Species	Checklists	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
San Jacinto Wildlife Area	237	2,774	165	198	148	203
Salton Sea State Recreation Area	205	2,418	154	174	88	146
Palo Verde Ecological Reserve	197	740	124	150	100	141
San Jacinto Wildlife Area (east)	193	473	115	129	137	157
Skinner Reservoir	191	910	150	161	118	168
North Shore Beach and Yacht Club	181	1,018	134	138	88	125
Alessandro Island	178	631	138	132	73	127
Lake Hemet	175	1,388	111	123	100	137
Whitewater Preserve	164	1,441	94	132	65	107
Ranch Jurupa Regional Park	161	855	116	115	83	119
Lake Elsinore State Recreation Area	159	332	119	96	107	98
Fairmount Park	157	696	101	116	70	118
Tahquitz Wash	152	1,639	106	124	43	90
Salton Sea - Irrigation District (Garner Wash)	151	332	90	103	83	84
Dos Palmas Area of Critical Environmental Concern	144	305	88	106	32	105
Salton Sea State Recreation Area (Salt Creek)	141	529	91	113	33	82
Lake Cahuilla Recreation Area	136	501	102	104	28	92
Perret Park	135	214	78	53	82	106
Demuth Park	134	907	108	109	43	71
City of Moreno Valley Open Space	132	446	71	102	65	99
Bernasconi Bay	132	125	66	95	57	71
The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens	127	1,263	95	102	42	70
Coachella Valley Preserve	125	1,584	77	103	46	73
University of California, Riverside Botanic Gardens	125	650	63	97	64	92
Pond Park	122	336	74	99	76	78
Joshua Tree National Park	121	1,140	53	99	42	73
White House Canyon	121	429	69	94	50	64
Lake Elsinore State Recreation Area (Warm Springs Valley)	121	278	72	68	77	75
Mayflower Park	121	238	77	87	20	75
Hidden Valley Wildlife Area	114	164	65	75	65	61
Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve	114	148	59	86	52	56
Prado Reservoir	110	55	56	89	0	33
Lake Point Park	105	124	65	56	63	75
Calle Estancia Park	103	264	59	89	60	49
Cottonwood Spring	102	877	41	87	30	63
Andreas Canyon	101	616	59	77	30	51
Tequesquito Arroyo Park	101	156	65	67	56	69
Mission Springs Park	100	343	58	60	54	72
Ruth Hardy Park	99	876	55	79	26	55
Dripping Springs	99	156	56	70	28	51
San Bernardino National Forest	98	524	61	67	43	51
Idyllwild Park	96	1,081	53	65	47	64
Chiriaco Summit	96	262	15	45	23	82
Mission Creek Preserve	96	232	43	81	33	49
Lake Fulmor	95	344	42	52	64	50
Box Springs Mountain Park (Belvedere Heights)	95	264	48	81	42	45
Salton Sea State Recreation Area (Betz Beach)	95	154	64	61	9	33
Andulka Park	94	436	59	75	49	58
San Bernardino National Forest (Chimney Flats)	94	121	47	56	49	80
Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve (Mesa de Colorado)	94	120	58	69	40	21