Ryder owns a brown Picador with a license plate which reads SHERM, referring to his addiction to sherm, a cigarette with marijuana mixed into the tobacco that has been immersed in PCP. During the mission 'Home Invasion,' Ryder can be seen frantically searching for the drug in his back yard, where he had previously buried his drugs, but can no longer find them. Throughout the game, CJ also continually calls Ryder 'sherm-head.'

An Easter Egg can be found on the top of the southern suspension tower of the Gant Bridge in San Fierro - a sign that reads "There are no Easter Eggs up here. Go away." A parachute can also be obtained on top of the northern tower.

Pier 69, located San Fierro, is clearly modeled and named after the San Francisco tourist attraction Pier 39. A prime example of Rockstar Games' satirical style, the name is also a parody of the 69 sexual position.

Claude, the protagonist of GTA III, makes a cameo appearance in San Andreas as the contestant of an illegal racing ring. He becomes involved with Catalina, who had recently split up with Carl "CJ" Johnson. Following his loss to CJ, Claude leaves San Andreas with Catalina for Liberty City. Catalina later betrays Claude during a bank heist in the opening sequence of GTA III, thus setting off the events of the game.

The three cities in San Andreas, Los Santos, San Fiero, and Las Venturas, represent the real life cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas, respectively. All of the cities in San Andreas bear striking resemblance to their real-world counterparts (including rough street layout and district names) and contain numerous historic landmarks from each city. The name San Andreas itself is a reference to the San Andreas Fault, a continental fault line that runs through California.

There is a fictional bar/motel called The Lil' Probe'Inn in San Andreas located north of Fort Carson. The Lil' Probe'Inn is actually a parody of the Little A'Le'Inn in Rachel, Nevada; the interior of the Probe'Inn matches the interior of the real life Little A'Le'Inn. Down the road from the Probe Inn is Area 69, a parody of Area 51.

The name Lil' Probe'Inn is spelled as deliberately as its namesake, the Lil' A'Le'Inn, whose name, when spoken with apostrophes, sounds like "Little Alien". Similarly, Lil' Probe'Inn sounds like "Little Probing", a double entendre indicating both sexual penetration and the infamous anal probes supposedly used on abductees by aliens.

Lil' Probe'Inn is additionally distinguished by a variety of photographs hung on its walls that seemingly depict flying saucers; a map of San Andreas with a number of marks is also found in its back room, likely a reference to UFO hunting.

In an OG Loc mission called Madd Dogg's Rhymes, one of Madd Dogg's bodyguards hints a reference to DRIV3R, saying "Tanner, you suck ass!"

Diet and exercise affect the appearance of CJ. If CJ is too fat, any missions involving the jetpack will not start, as it would take a lot more power for him to be propelled and be difficult to balance.