Riverside Valentine’s Day Guide for Families

holidaysFebruary
Written By Kelly S

Valentine’s Day has always been one of my favorite holidays! I know some people don’t like it because it feels like a “Hallmark” holiday (no judgment if that’s you!) but I’ll always welcome a chance to show love to my family and friends, wear pink, and enjoy yummy treats.

If you’re planning to celebrate Valentine’s Day in the Riverside, California, area, this post is for you!

Keep reading for:

  • fun Valentine’s events for families in the Riverside area

  • date ideas for Riverside parents

  • fun local heart and Valentine’s-themed spots you can visit all February long

  • where to find heart-shaped pizza in Riverside, along with some other festive food options

  • my family’s favorite Valentine’s books that you can buy or put on hold at our local Riverside libraries

  • simple ideas for celebrating Valentine’s Day with your family at home

  • ideas for Valentine cards/gifts for your kids to pass out

Hope you have a wonderful holiday!

Valentine’s Events for Kids and Teens in Riverside

From library storytimes to Parks and Rec events and more, there are quite a few fun Valentine’s themed activities for families in Riverside this February! (If you’re looking for more events this month - not just Valentine’s themed - check out the February Riverside Fun Kids Event Guide here).

  • Saturday, February 7, 2026, from 10:00-1:00pm Mother–Daughter Heart-to-Heart Brunch at Riverside Community Hospital. Learn about heart health with a heart healthy brunch, blood pressure screening, and activities together.

  • Saturday, February 7, 2026, 6:00–8:30 p.m Mother–Son Bingo Night, . Springbrook Clubhouse • 1011 N. Orange Street, Riverside A fun evening of spaghetti,, candy bar bingo, and prizes. Boys are invited to attend with their mother or a female role model. $20 per couple; $5 per additional child, payable at the event.

  • Sunday, February 8, 4:00–5:00 PM — Teen event: Sweetheart Bag Charms at Orange Terrace Library, for teens - free!

  • Tuesday, February 10, 4:00–5:00 PM — Teen event: Anti-Valentine Recycled Paper Rose Bouquet at Arlanza Library, for teens - free!

  • Wednesday, February 11- 10:00 AM–11:00 AM — Valentine’s Day STEAM Lab at Eastside Library, children

  • Wednesday, February 11, 11:00 AM–12:00 PM — Valentine’s Day Storytime at Eastside Library at Lincoln Park, for children & families

  • Wednesday, February 11, 2026 5:00-7:00pm Palentine’s Day event at Nichols Park - free for all ages. “Come celebrate friendship at our Palentine’s Day event! This special event is all about honoring the people who make our lives brighter - our pals. Enjoy fun performances, games, crafts, and treats while spending time with friends old and new. Whether you come with your bestie, your family, or on your own, this program is a great way to share kindness, laughter, and connection.”

  • Wednesday, February 11, 2026 2:00pm Valentine’s Play Date at We Rock the Spectrum Redlands by NeuroSpicy IE Mamas - check out more info about this group for Autism + Neurodivergent Kids (and their Moms) on Instagram and use their link in bio to register.

  • 11:00 AM–12:00 PM — Bilingual Storytime: Friendship Day at Arlanza Library, children & families

  • Thursday, February 12 - 5:00-7:00pm Valentine’s Event at Bryant Park - free for all ages. Roses are red, violets are blue, candy is sweet and you are too when attending the Parks and Rec department Valentine’s Day events! Music, refreshments, keepsake photos, games, and arts and crafts. Additional food and games available for purchase.

  • 4:00-5:00pm Thursday, February 12, 2026 Teen event: Valloween Celebration at Marcy Library, Riverside A fun, spooky-meets-sweet “Valloween” celebration for teens and adults with themed activities.

  • Thursday, February 12, 2026 UCR Chamber Singers Valentine’s Day Concert at UCR Arts in Downtown Riverside. If you have older children and teens who enjoy live music, this could be an enjoyable evening - especially since it’s free to attend!

  • Friday, February 13 - 4:00-6:00 pm TEENS: Fresca Flow and Creative Glow - free, ages 12-17 at Johnny Sotelo Youth Opportunity Center. “This fun FREE event is perfect for teens looking to unleash their creativity while celebrating love and friendship. Enjoy a lively atmosphere filled with art, music, and pain a special Valentine’s themed masterpiece. All supplies will be provided - just bring your creativity and a friend!”

  • Saturday, February 14 from 12:00-4:00pm Valentine’s Day Activity at Heritage House at the Heritage House in Riverside (near CBU). “Come to the Heritage House to learn about how Victorian’s celebrated this holiday about LOVE. Heritage House docent, Michael Bussee, will be on hand to delight visitors in character as Milton Hershey, with the history of the Hershey’s KISS. Make your own Victorian valentine and enjoy this sweet afternoon in the Heritage House gardens!”

  • Saturday, February 14, 3:00–4:00 PM — TEENS: Galentine Tote Bag Painting at Orange Terrace Library, for teens and adults. Free, supplies provided

  • Saturday, February 14, 2026 Moreno Valley Roadrunner’s Club Valentine’s Day Kids 1-Mile, 5K & 10K Race along Lake Perris Dam. A Valentine’s Day fun run with distances for kids and adults, including a kids’ 1-mile option. Registration required - it’s pretty inexpensive!

Date Ideas for Riverside Parents

If you’re lucky enough to acquire a babysitter, here are some ideas for dates for grown-ups, whether you celebrate on February 14 or some other day!

  • if it’s light out, go on a hike at Sycamore Canyon, Mt. Rubidoux or Two Trees Trail. (Two Trees, in particular, is one my husband and I have enjoyed together more than with kids, as it’s pretty strenuous). You can view more hiking and nature areas here.

  • go to an event or grab a meal at Farm House Collective - this was our most recent date! We enjoyed Filipino food, with gelato for dessert, and walking around together at this new-ish outdoor food court. (The Farm House Collective is kid-friendly, so feel free to go back with your kids!) They have family-friendly events like family movie nights, but something like karaoke, concerts, or open mic night would be especially fun as a “grown-up” date.

  • walk around a garden together - during the day, stroll through flowers at the UCR Botanic Gardens, dream of updating your backyard at the Land Use Learning Center, or walk through the orange groves at Citrus State Park. (all of these have free admission, with parking under $10). At night, it’s a bit of a drive, but 123 Farms in Beaumont/Cherry Valley is about 30-45 minutes from Riverside and so romantic with their twinkle lights! They’re hosting “Valentine Nights” - I expect it will be pretty crowded around February 14, so maybe go later in the month?

  • go out to eat - Any place can be fun if you get a quiet, uninterrupted meal with your loved one! But here are a few fancier/trendier places in downtown Riverside that could be especially fun for a date night — these are the places on my own personal list to try!

  • go out for coffee - try Arcade Coffee, Daily Brew, or Buenos Dias Cafe!

  • go to Glen Ivy or the Spa at the Mission Inn - if you have the budget, this could be a relaxing way to spend the day together! Glen Ivy’s pools are warm so you can visit even if it’s chilly out.

  • go to a special event - when I was putting together the Riverside family-friendly event calendar for February, I noticed quite a few events that aren’t really family-friendly but could be fun for a date, from paint and sip nights to trivia to a ball!

  • exercise together - you could go on a run together, or enjoy a free day at EOS Fitness - free for everyone on Valentine’s Day!

  • go to the farmer’s market - stroll the market (the one in downtown Riverside on Saturday mornings is my favorite) and buy whatever fruit, veggies, bread, or other groceries you need (maybe for a family picnic?) or buy some flowers and come home and arrange them together!

Heart and Valentine Themed Spots to Go All February Long

Here are a few more festive spots that could be fun to visit this month!

In Riverside…

  • The Lock in Your Love Monument in downtown Riverside says “LOVE” and has places for you to put a padlock (you can bring your own or potentially buy them nearby) to commemorate your love with your family, perhaps while you’re in the area for the Main Library or the Downtown Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings? You can read more about the monument here.

  • Celebrate Valentine’s Day with a special themed activity at the historic Heritage House. Valentine décor will be on display for the first two weeks of February. Sign up for a free tour here, or check out their special February 14 activity here.

In the Inland Empire…

  • The Cabazon Dinosaurs are located about 45 minutes east of Riverside (toward Palm Springs). We’ve stopped here in the past - I’ll be honest, I just looked at pictures of their paint this year and don’t think it’s super festive (it looks more like spring than Valentine’s day to me!) but could be worth a stop if you’re headed that way. We personally have never paid to go inside their museum - we just stop and take photos on our way to the desert. Big Morongo Canyon Reserve is a hike my family has enjoyed that is pretty close to the dinosaurs, to make it worth the drive! (Or you could stop at the nearby outlet malls if you have shopping to do).

  • Heart Rock Trail in Joshua Tree - there is a big rock in Joshua Tree that looks like a heart, and makes for cute pictures! You can get right up next to it, and it’s a pretty kid-friendly trail. Be prepared for lots of people with the same idea as you, haha, especially on a weekend in February. If you live in Riverside, I think Joshua Tree National Park is worth the visit- it’s a long but doable day trip! (We try to go every winter at least once!)

  • Heart Rock Trail in Crestline - there is a similarly named trail in Crestline (up in the mountains) - I haven’t done this one, but I have friends who went recently and enjoyed it. You can’t get close to this heart-shaped rock, fyi.

Where To Find Heart Shaped Pizza in Riverside

Enjoying a heart-shaped pizza is a super simple way to be festive for Valentine’s Day. I have a list of our nominees for Best Pizza in Riverside here, but not all of them offer heart-shaped pizza!

Here are some of the places in Riverside that offer heart-shaped pizza:

  • Pizza Guys on Trautwein in Orangecrest/Woodcrest area. I believe their heart-shaped pizza is available year-round! We were already fans of Pizza Guys, so we were super excited when friends of ours purchased the franchise - it’s local, family-owned, and the parents and their adult kids work there together 🥹

  • Mountain Mike’s in Woodcrest has traditional heart-shaped pizzas, along with heart shaped cherry dessert pizzas! Cherry is my favorite dessert flavor, and it looks so yummy!

  • Pizza Hut and California Pizza Kitchen are two big chains with locations in Riverside - both are offering heart-shaped pizzas (CPK is only as part of a special meal).

  • I haven’t seen anything for this year yet, but Capone’s on Arlington by Riverside Airport usually does heart-shaped pizzas on Valentine’s Day itself. We had their (regular-shaped) pizza recently for our Best Pizza in Riverside challenge, and it was delicious!

  • Dematteo’s and Pietro’s Italian Cuisine have also done heart-shaped pizzas in the past, so stay tuned if you’re interested in ordering from them - hopefully they’ll announce soon.

More Festive Restaurant Options in Riverside

  • Arcade Coffee has a variety of festive Valentine’s Day options from February 9-15, 2026, including strawberry cinnamon rolls, heart-shaped straws, and more!

Favorite Valentine’s Picture Books for Children

One of my family’s favorite ways to celebrate holidays is to read themed picture books - it’s free (if we get them from the library) and simple to spend time together on the couch with a book and a blanket.

An added bonus is that we have front-facing bookshelves (we have these that get screwed into the wall, and this one that is free-standing) so the pretty covers help add some festive decor!

You can put these books on hold at Riverside Public Library or the Riverside County Library, or just stop into one of their locations and I’m sure they’ll have some more festive books on display!

Simple Ideas for Celebrating Valentine’s Day with Your Children at Home

Don’t feel up for leaving the house? Whether your family is under the weather (it’s sure going around!) or you just don’t feel like going anywhere,, here are a few more simple ideas for celebrating Valentine’s Day with your children:

  • have a festive Valentine’s breakfast. We like setting the table with Valentine’s paper plates and maybe a few heart-shaped chocolates, and then we have pancakes or waffles with strawberries, chocolate chips, and whipped cream.

  • write cards or draw pictures for each family member to share your love and appreciation

  • enjoy a Valentine’s movie night - pop some popcorn and grab some movie candy or ice cream and enjoy a special family movie. Here are some ideas for little ones:

    • Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown

    • Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You

    • Daniel Tiger Valentine’s Day episode

    • Bluey episode - “Fancy Restaurant” (if you have a Bluey fan, these free printable “love coupons” are very sweet!)

    • If You Give a Mouse a Cookie: Valentine’s Special

    • For older children, I’d consider The Princess Diaries, a Disney cartoon “love story” (Lady and the Tramp, Beauty and the Beast, etc.) or start watching All Creatures Great and Small (the new show on PBS Masterpiece, start with season 1)!

  • put a paper heart on your child’s bedroom door with character traits you appreciate about them and things you love about them. You could put one up every day for a week! Here’s a cute spin on this idea that uses a photo of your child.

  • have a family drawing session - my children love the Art for Kids Hub videos on YouTube (good for many different ages!), and they especially enjoy when I join in with them and draw my own. It would be fun to choose a few of their videos - perhaps Valentine’s themed? - and enjoy being artistic together.

Valentine Cards/Treats for Your Child to Pass Out at School or Co-Op

Of course, you can pick up Valentine cards at plenty of big box stores, grocery stores, Dollar Tree, etc. around Riverside, which is fun!

We personally always make our Valentine’s on Canva - that way my children can personalize them just the way they want to, and they can even write their name and then they’re ready to go. I do four cards to a page and print them on my home printer. We usually add on a little toy or treat too - in the past we’ve done mini basketballs, crazy straws, slap bracelets, or 3D printed animals.

If you don’t feel like designing your own, here are a few cute ones that are ready to print:

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Kelly S
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