State Route 74 (SR 74), part of which forms the Palms to Pines Scenic Byway or Pines to Palms Highway, and the Ortega Highway, is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It runs from

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

San Juan Capistrano San Juan Capistrano (also known colloquially as San Juan or SJC) is a city in southern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 35,253 at the 2020 Census. Named for Saint John of Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano was founded ...

in Orange County to the city limits of

Palm Desert Palm Desert is a city in the Coachella Valley region of Riverside County, California. The city is located in the Colorado Desert arm of the Sonoran Desert, about east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The populat ...

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

. Stretching about , it passes through several parks and

National Forests National Forest may refer to: * National forest or state forest, a forest administered or protected by a sovereign state ** National forest (Brazil) ** National forest (France) ** National forest (United States) ** State Forests (Poland) ** The N ...

between the Pacific coast and the

Coachella Valley The Coachella Valley ( ) is an arid rift valley in the Colorado Desert of Southern California in Riverside County. The valley has been referred to as Greater Palm Springs and occasionally the Palm Springs Area due to the historic promine ...

Route description

SR 74 begins at an interchange with I-5 in the city of

and heads east as the Ortega Highway, loosely paralleling

San Juan Creek San Juan Creek, also called the San Juan River, is a stream in Orange County, California, Orange and Riverside County, California, Riverside Counties, draining a watershed of .7.5 Minute Quadrangle Map, U.S. Geological Survey, San Juan Capistr ...

. The highway leaves the San Juan Capistrano city limits and turns northeast, going through the community of

Rancho Mission Viejo Rancho Mission Viejo (Spanish: ''Rancho Misión Vieja'', meaning "Old Mission Ranch") is an active ranch and farm, habitat reserve, residential community, and census-designated place in South Orange County, California. Rancho Mission Viejo is ...

and entering Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park and eventually

Cleveland National Forest Cleveland National Forest is a National forest (United States), U.S. national forest in Southern California that encompasses 460,000 acres/ of inland Montane ecosystems, montane regions. It is approximately 60 miles from the Pacific Ocean, withi ...

. After going through San Juan Hot Springs, SR 74 enters

. The highway continues winding through the

Santa Ana Mountains The Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riversid ...

and passes through the community of El Cariso before descending into the city of Lake Elsinore. SR 74 continues northwest on Grand Avenue before continuing northeast on Riverside Drive and continuing along the shore of

Lake Elsinore Lake Elsinore is a natural freshwater lake in Riverside County, California, United States, located east of the Santa Ana Mountains and fed by the San Jacinto River. Originally named ''Laguna Grande'' by Spanish explorers, it was renamed for t ...

. The road continues southeast on Collier Avenue before continuing northeast on Central Avenue and intersecting

I-15 I15 may refer to: * Interstate 15, a north–south Interstate Highway in the United States of America * Polikarpov I-15, a Soviet fighter aircraft * I15 (band), a band * , of the Imperial Japanese Navy * Älvsborg Regiment The Älvsborg Regiment ...

. SR 74 leaves the city of Lake Elsinore and continues through unincorporated Riverside County before turning east and entering

Perris Perris is an old railway city in Riverside County, California, United States, located east-southeast of Los Angeles and north of San Diego. It is known for Lake Perris, skydiving, the Southern California Railway Museum, and its sunny dry cli ...

. After traveling through downtown, SR 74 merges with I-215 and runs concurrently with I-215 before exiting the freeway as Matthews Road. SR 74 travels southeast through the Romoland area of Menifee and turns east to become Pinacate Road, continuing through

Homeland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...

and

Green Acres ''Green Acres'' is an American television absurdist sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to ''Petticoat Junction'', the series was first br ...

before running concurrently with SR 79 as Florida Avenue through

Hemet Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California, United States. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 89,833 at the 2020 ...

. SR 79 splits off and heads north towards San Jacinto while SR 74 continues through

East Hemet East Hemet is a census-designated place (CDP) in Riverside County, California, United States, located east of Hemet. East Hemet is in an unincorporated area outside the city limits of Hemet. The population was 19,432 at the 2020 census, up from 1 ...

and Valle Vista before entering the

San Bernardino National Forest The San Bernardino National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California encompassing of which are federal. The forest is made up of two main divisions, the eastern portion of the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernar ...

. The Palms to Pines Highway parallels San Jacinto Creek as it winds through the mountains before intersecting SR 243 in Mountain Center and providing access to the Hemet Reservoir. SR 74 follows the Garner Valley Wash through

Garner Valley This is a list of geographic place names, or wikt:toponym, toponyms, in Riverside County, California. The county itself was named for the Riverside, California, city of Riverside, the county seat, which in turn was named for its location beside t ...

before meeting the eastern terminus of SR 371. The road crosses the Santa Rosa Indian Reservation before going through the communities of Ribbonwood and Pinyon Pines and turning north along Deep Canyon and becoming the western boundary of the University of California Desert Research Area. As the highway descends to the

area, it parallels Carrizo Creek before entering the city limits of

, where SR 74 meets its current legal eastern terminus. The SR 74 designation continued into Palm Desert as a city arterial to its eastern terminus at SR 111, which has also had its state highway designation removed through Palm Desert. Route 74 passes through many

parks A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

and

along its route. Some of these places include the

, the

, the Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park, Lake Elsinore State Recreation Park, the Soboba Indian Reservation,

Lake Hemet Lake Hemet is a water storage reservoir located in the San Jacinto Mountains in Mountain Center, Riverside County, California, with a capacity of of water. It was created in 1895 with the construction of Lake Hemet Dam. Originally built by a ...

, Santa Rosa Indian Reservation, and

Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument The Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument is a U.S. National Monument, national monument in Southern California. It includes portions of the Santa Rosa Mountains (California), Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains, San Jacinto mo ...

. SR 74 is part of the

California Freeway and Expressway System The California Freeway and Expressway System is a system of existing or planned freeways and expressways in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses both state highways and federal highways in California. It was defined by Article 2 (comme ...

, and for a portion near I-15 as well as from I-215 to the eastern Hemet city limits is part of the National Highway System,
a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

. SR 74 is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System; however, it is only a scenic highway as designated by

Caltrans The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...

from the western boundary of the

to its junction with SR 111. State Route 74 is called the California Wildland Firefighters Memorial Highway (from Lake Elsinore to San Juan Capistrano), as designated by various state laws. The Palms to Pines Scenic Byway is a

National Forest Scenic Byway The National Forest Scenic Byways are roads that have been designated by the U.S. Forest Service as scenic byways. Many are also National Scenic Byways (NSB). The program was initiated in 1987. List The following roadways were listed by the Fede ...

History

The route has been signed as Route 74 since the establishment of state routes in 1934. Its original corridor between then CA 71 Corona Freeway (later

I-15W Interstate 15W or I-15W were former designations for one of the following: *Interstate 15 in California#State Route 31, Interstate 15 (California) (temporary route while I-15 was under construction) *Interstate 86 (Idaho), Interstate 86 (former desi ...

) and present-day I-215 (then, I-15E and U.S. Route 395) was numbered as U.S. 395, through downtown Perris. East of the CA 74/U.S. 395 junction, from Romoland-east, was CA 740 (Florida Avenue). The western portion of Route 74 in Orange County follows

and is named the Ortega Highway, after the Spanish explorer Sgt.

José Francisco Ortega José Francisco Ortega (1734 – February 1798) was a New Spanish soldier and early settler of Alta California. He joined the military at the age of twenty-one and rose to the rank of sergeant by the time he joined the Portola expedition in 1769. ...

who led the scouts of the 1769

Portola expedition Portola may refer to: * Portola (album), ''Portola'' (album), a 1998 album by Rose Melberg * Portola, California * Portola, San Francisco, California * Portola Music Festival People with the surname * Gaspar de Portolá (ca. 1717-aft.1784), Spanish ...

, first non-natives to ever see the area. Route 74 between San Juan Capistrano and Lake Elsinore, due to its narrow width and high traffic volume, is known as one of the most dangerous highways in the state. California's legislature has relinquished state control of segments of SR 74 in Perris and Palm Desert, and turned it over to local control. This includes deleting from the highway code an unconstructed segment that would have extended SR 74 from SR 111 to

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

. On August 11, 1930, the

Board of Supervisors officially named the highway "from San Jacinto Mountains to the Desert" as the Palms to Pines Highway.

In media

* A segment of Route 74 named "Seven Level Hill," just south of

Palm Desert, California Palm Desert is a city in the Coachella Valley region of Riverside County, California. The city is located in the Colorado Desert arm of the Sonoran Desert, about east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The popula ...

, appears in the 1963 American comedy film ''

It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' is a 1963 American Technicolor epic comedy film in Ultra Panavision 70 produced and directed by Stanley Kramer, from a screenplay by William and Tania Rose. The film, starring Spencer Tracy with an all ...

'' during the opening minutes of the film, when the major characters of the film meet for the first time following a car accident (near mile marker 87). * Scenes from the 1954 American comedy film ''

The Long, Long Trailer ''The Long, Long Trailer'' is a 1954 American Anscocolor road comedy film based on a novel of the same name written by Clinton Twiss in 1951 about a couple who buy a new travel trailer home and spend a year traveling across the United States.'' V ...

'' were shot on the Pines to Palms Scenic Byway (State Route 74) in

. * The rock band

Kyuss Kyuss ( ) was an American stoner rock band formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1987, and considered one of the pioneers of the genre. After disbanding in 1995, a number of band members have gone on to form or play in several notable bands in ...

, which formed in Palm Desert, titled the opening track of their 1991 debut album Wretch, "(Beginning of What's About to Happen) Hwy 74".

Major intersections

References

External links

{{CASR external links, SR, 74
California @ AARoads.com – State Route 74

074 State Route 074 State Route 074 074 U.S. Route 395 San Juan Capistrano, California Lake Elsinore, California Perris, California Hemet, California Palm Desert, California