The Arrowhead

The plaque calls it a natural landmark and says it has been a symbol here for centuries. That may not be so. A 2007 study found no mention of the arrowhead in the diaries of the Mormon colonists of the 1850s, who described this valley in loving detail, nor in the 1853 railroad survey that measured the hot springs directly below it; the earliest known reference is an 1867 newspaper column. It may be an advertisement cut into the hillside to sell the springs.

What the plaque says

Located on the hills above San Bernardino, the Arrowhead has been an important landmark for centuries. It is believed to be a natural feature but its true origin is unknown. The distinctive arrowhead shape is visible because the white sage, which grows inside the Arrowhead, contrasts sharply with the darker chaparral vegetation outside. Many fires have burned the landmark resulting in gully erosion. Check dams have been constructed in an effort to slow down the erosion process and help protect and preserve the Arrowhead outline. Bushes were planted on the outline for this same purpose.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Original McDonald's Site — 3.1 mi
  The corner where two brothers invented fast food, now an unofficial museum the corporation has never blessed.
• Lake Gregory — 5.2 mi
  A New Deal dam built by a Redlands orange grower, for the opposite reason to every other lake on this mountain.
• Wigwam Motel — 5.9 mi
  Nineteen concrete teepees on Foothill Boulevard, the last of Frank Redford's Wigwam Villages and still renting rooms.
• Lake Arrowhead Village — 7.4 mi
  A reservoir that lost in court and became a resort — and the 1920s village that made its name was burned down on purpose.

More markers nearby

• Site of Mormon Stockade — 4.4 mi
• Mormon Road — 4.6 mi
• Daley Toll Road Monument — 5.6 mi
• Garcés-Smith Monument — 6.8 mi