California State Route 74

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State Route 74
Defined by S&HC § 374, maintained by Caltrans
Length:	146 mi[1] (235 km)
Formed:	1934[2]
West end:	I-5 in San Juan Capistrano
Major junctions:	I-15 in Lake Elsinore I-215 in Perris SR 79 in Hemet
East end:	SR 111 in Palm Desert
State highways in California (list - pre-1964) County routes in California (list) < SR 73 SR 75 > History - Unconstructed - Deleted - Freeway - Scenic

State Route 74, a part of the Pines to Palms Scenic Byway, is a mostly scenic highway that runs from Palm Desert in Riverside County westward to San Juan Capistrano in Orange County.

As the highway leaves Palm Desert near the Bighorn Country Club, the site of golf's "Battle at Bighorn," it begins a winding, 20 mile (32 km) journey to Garner Valley near the top of the Santa Rosa Mountains. This picturesque stretch is also referred to as the "Palms to Pines Highway." Even for those who have never been to California, the route is a familiar one. It is one of the most popular locations in the country for automotive periodical photo shoots and road tests.

The road straightens out considerably where it meets with State Route 371 near Anza, where Red Skelton had his home and art studio. Through Garner Valley, the scenery is among the finest in California. Sharp-eyed movie fans will recognize it as the road on which Elvis Presley drove his Model T on his way to the nearby village of Idyllwild in the movie, Kid Galahad.

Past Lake Hemet, Route 74 climbs back into the mountains for another 30 miles (48 km) of spectacular scenery on its way to Hemet where it becomes a surface street called Florida Avenue. It continues westward through the communities of Perris and Lake Elsinore. It merges with Interstate 215 for three miles east of Perris before splitting in Perris, where it resumes its westward journey.

Soon, the highway begins a final scenic climb on its run to the coast, with breathtaking views of Lake Elsinore and the Temecula Valley as it goes over the Santa Ana Mountains. (This part of the highway is notably lacking in guardrails.) It also takes on a new name - the Ortega Highway - which it retains all the way to its terminus in San Juan Capistrano, just west of Interstate 5 and a short distance from the famous mission from which the city takes its name. Ortega Highway is extremely busy during peak commute hours as commuters from Southwestern Riverside County commute to their jobs in Orange County, and on weekends as recreational drivers and motorcylists enjoy the scenery. This section is often closed during rain storms and was closed for several weeks in January and February 2005. The portion just south of Palm Desert was used in 1963 for the filming of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. The name of the highway is also the first track of Palm Desert Scene stoner rock band Kyuss's debut album Wretch.

In February 2007, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) embarked on a three-year, 3.3-mile Safety Improvement Project to reduce accidents and to save lives. Safety improvements include the widening of lanes, the addition of shoulders, guardrails, retaining walls, and turnouts, and an improved drainage system. As of May 2008, the project that begins just east of the San Juan Canyon bridge and ends at the Orange/Riverside County line is on schedule and about 75 percent complete. The road closes nightly from 8:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. Occasionally, the road is open at night during long holiday weekends and when serving as an alternate route due to construction work on SR-91 at Green River Road.

This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System^[3] and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System^[4].

Contents 1 Major intersections 2 Additional landmarks 3 Other names 4 References

[edit] Major intersections

Note: Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured in 1964, based on the alignment as it existed at that time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.

County	Location	Postmile [5][6][7]	Destinations	Notes
Orange ORA 0.00-15.60	San Juan Capistrano	0.00	I-5 (San Diego Freeway) – Los Angeles, San Diego
			Antonio Parkway
Riverside RIV 0.00-96.014	Lake Elsinore	11.83	Grand Avenue – Lakeland Village
		17.24	I-15 – Corona, San Diego
	Perris	27.53 215	I-215 north – Riverside	West end of I-215 overlap
		215 27.54	I-215 south – San Diego	East end of I-215 overlap
	Hemet	34.33	SR 79 south (Winchester Road)	West end of SR 79 overlap
		41.34	SR 79 north (San Jacinto Road)	East end of SR 79 overlap
			Ramona Expressway
		59.25	SR 243
		71.75	SR 371
	Palm Desert	96.01	SR 111

[edit] Additional landmarks

Route 74 passes through many parks and National Forests along its route. Some points of interest are:

• Cleveland National Forest
• Lake Elsinore State Recreation Park
• Soboba Indian Reservation
• Lake Hemet
• Santa Rosa Indian Reservation

[edit] Other names

Route 74 has the following names, as designated by various state laws:^[8]

• California Wildland Firefighters Memorial Highway: From Lake Elsinore to San Juan Capistrano.

[edit] References