San Dimas, CA

San Dimas is a town split by freeways, sitting where the 210 and the 57 come together below the San Gabriel Mountains in eastern Los Angeles County. Glendora borders it on the west and La Verne on the east, and the pieces of town on either side of the interchange feel noticeably different. North of the freeways, streets run up toward the foothills, with ranch houses on the flatter blocks and bigger homes where the ground starts to rise. South of the 57, the hills around Via Verde hold their own curving streets. Most of these homes went up over the postwar decades on land that had been orange groves. Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park is the shared backyard, a county park built around a reservoir with long shoreline paths and hills to climb. Up at the north end, the canyon trails and the county nature center pull people the other direction, into the chaparral. Bonita Avenue is where a slow morning happens. Enchanted Rose Tea Parlour there pours British tea with scones, while Twisted Sage Cafe on Foothill Boulevard is the breakfast and lunch stop for the north side. Klatch Coffee on Arrow Highway is the local roaster, and plenty of people start the day with a cup from there. The A Line reached a new San Dimas station in 2025, giving the town a train toward Pasadena and downtown Los Angeles. Grocery runs split between Arrow Highway, Bonita Avenue and Via Verde depending on which side of the freeways you live on, and most of them happen by car. The interchange that makes commuting easy also carves the city into sections. Getting from the Via Verde hills to downtown or the foothills means crossing the freeway, and the ramps clog during rush hour. Once across, downtown is small enough that most people park once and walk the rest.