California State Route 74 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

State Route 74 a part of the Pines to Palms Scenic Byway, is a mostly scenic highway in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It runs from Palm Desert

Palm Desert, California

Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census, up from 41,155 at the 2000 census...

in Riverside County westward to San Juan Capistrano

San Juan Capistrano, California

San Juan Capistrano is a city in southern Orange County, California, located approximately southeast of Downtown Santa Ana. The current OMB metropolitan designation for San Juan Capistrano and the Orange County Area is “Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA.” The population was 34,593 at the 2010 census,...

in Orange County

Orange County, California

Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...

Route description

SR 74 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System

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 is defined by the Streets and Highways Code.-List of roads in the system:*State Route 1 *State Route 2...

and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System

State Scenic Highway System (California)

The State Scenic Highway System is a list of highways, mainly state highways, that have been designated by the California Department of Transportation as scenic highways. The California State Legislature, primarily through Section 263 of the Streets and Highways Code, makes highways eligible for...

. However, it is only an eligible scenic highway as designated by Caltrans from the western boundary of the San Bernardino National Forest

San Bernardino National Forest

San Bernardino National Forest is a federally-managed forest covering more than 800,000 acres . There are two main divisions which are the San Bernardino Mountains on the easternmost of the Transverse Range, and the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains on the northernmost of the Peninsular...

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.

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

San Juan Capistrano, California

and heads east as Ortega Highway, loosely paralleling San Juan Creek

San Juan Creek

San Juan Creek, also called the San Juan River, is a stream in Orange County, California that consists of a catchment basin encompassing . Its mainstem rises in the Santa Ana Mountains, in the Trabuco Ranger District of the Cleveland National Forest...

. The highway leaves the San Juan Capistrano city limits and turns northeast, going through the community of Rancho Mission Viejo and entering Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park and eventually Cleveland National Forest

Cleveland National Forest

Cleveland National Forest encompasses 460,000 acres , mostly of chaparral, with a few riparian areas. A warm dry mediterranean climate prevails over the Forest. It is the southernmost National forest of California. It is administered by the United States Forest Service, a government agency within...

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

Riverside County, California

Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...

.

The highway continues winding through the Cleveland Mountains and passes through the community of El Cariso

El Cariso, California

El Cariso is an unincorporated community in Riverside County, California. It lies along the "Ortega Highway", just west of where it crosses the crest of the Santa Ana Mountains a few miles southwest of Lake Elsinore. It lies within the Trabuco District of the Cleveland National Forest...

before entering the city of Lake Elsinore

Lake Elsinore, California

For the lake see Lake Elsinore.Lake Elsinore or LE is a city in western Riverside County, California. The population was 51,821 at the 2010 census...

. SR 74 continues northwest on Grand Avenue before continuing northeast on Riverside Drive and continuing along the shore of Lake Elsinore

Lake Elsinore

Lake Elsinore, originally named Laguna Grande by the Spanish explorers, renamed for the town Lake Elsinore, California established on its northeastern shore April 9, 1888.-Limnology:...

. The road continues southeast on Collier Avenue before continuing northeast and intersecting I-15. SR 74 leaves the city of Lake Elsinore and continues through unincorporated Riverside County before turning east and entering Perris

Perris, California

Perris is a city in Riverside County, California, USA. At the 2010 census, the city population was 68,386, up from 36,189 at the 2000 census. The city is named in honor of Fred T. Perris, chief engineer of the California Southern Railroad...

. After traveling through downtown, SR 74 merges with I-215 and runs concurrently

Concurrency (road)

A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...

with I-215 before exiting the freeway as Matthews Road.

SR 74 travels southeast through Romoland

Romoland, California

Romoland is a census-designated place in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 1,684 at the 2010 census, down from 2,764 at the 2000 census....

and turns east to become Pinacate Road, continuing through Homeland

Homeland, California

Homeland is a census-designated place in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 5,969 at the 2010 census, up from 3,710 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Homeland is located at ....

and Green Acres

Green Acres, California

Green Acres is a census-designated place in Riverside County, California. Green Acres sits at an elevation of . The 2010 United States census reported Green Acres's population was 1,805.-Geography:...

before running concurrently with SR 79 as Florida Avenue through Hemet

Hemet, California

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 78,657 at the 2010 census....

. SR 79 splits off and heads north towards San Jacinto

San Jacinto, California

San Jacinto is a city in Riverside County, California, U.S.A. It was named after Saint Hyacinth and is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet to its south. The mountains associated with the valley are the San Jacinto Mountains. The population was 44,199 at the 2010...

while SR 74 continues through East Hemet

East Hemet, California

East Hemet is a census-designated place in Riverside County, California, United States, located east of Hemet. East Hemet is in an unincorporated area outside the city limits of Hemet...

and Valle Vista

Valle Vista, California

Valle Vista is a census-designated place in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 14,578 at the 2010 census, up from 8,356 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Valle Vista is located at ....

before entering San Bernardino National Forest

San Bernardino National Forest

. The Pines to Palms Highway parallels San Jacinto Creek as it winds through the mountains before intersecting SR 243 in Mountain Center

Mountain Center, California

Mountain Center is a census-designated place in west central Riverside County, California. It lies along State Route 74 in the southern division of San Bernardino National Forest, just north of Lake Hemet. Mountain Center lies midway between Hemet and Palm Desert, and it is southeast of the city...

and providing access to the Hemet Reservoir. SR 74 follows the Garner Valley Wash through Garner Valley before meeting the eastern terminus of SR 371. The road crosses the Santa Rosa Indian Reservation before going through the communities of Gardenland and Pinyon Pines

Pinyon Pines, California

North of State Route 74...

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 Palm Springs

Palm Springs

Palm Springs is a desert city in CaliforniaPalm Springs may also refer to:* Palm Springs, Florida* Palm Springs, Hong Kong, a residential development in Yuen Long, Hong Kong* Coachella Valley, also known as the Palm Springs area...

area, it parallels Carrizo Creek

Carrizo Creek

Carrizo Creek is a river in New Mexico and Texas. It is a tributary of Rita Blanca Creek, itself a tributary of the Canadian River. Via the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers, water from Carrizo Creek eventually reaches the Gulf of Mexico.-References:*...

before entering the city limits of Palm Desert

Palm Desert, California

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

Route 74 passes through many parks and National Forests

United States National Forest

National Forest is a classification of federal lands in the United States.National Forests are largely forest and woodland areas owned by the federal government and managed by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. Land management of these areas...

along its route. Some of these places include the San Bernardino National Forest

San Bernardino National Forest

, the Cleveland National Forest

Cleveland National Forest

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

Lake Hemet

Lake Hemet is a water storage reservoir located in the San Jacinto Mountains in Riverside County, California, with a capacity of of water. It was created in 1895 with the construction of the Hemet Dam, and is owned and operated by the Lake Hemet Municipal Water District .- Facts and statistics...

and the Santa Rosa Indian Reservation.

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) and present-day I-215(then ,I-15E and U.S.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).

A portion of Route 74 in Orange and Riverside counties is named after the famous Spanish explorer Sgt. Jose Ortega, who led a small party of men around the newly discovered San Francisco Bay from Palo Alto to the Carquinez Straits.

A portion of Route 74 appears in the 1963 American comedy film "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" during the opening act where the film's major characters meet for the first time.

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.

{| class=wikitable
!County
!Location
!Postmile

!Destinations
!Notes
|-
|rowspan=3|Orange

Orange County, California

ORA 0.00-15.60
|rowspan=2|San Juan Capistrano

San Juan Capistrano, California

|0.00
|Ortega Highway (to Camino Capistrano)
|Continuation beyond I-5
|-
|0.00
|
|Interchange
|-
|
|
|Antonio Parkway, La Pata Avenue – Ladera Ranch

Ladera Ranch, California

Ladera Ranch is a census-designated place and a planned community located in south Orange County, California just outside the city limits of San Juan Capistrano, Rancho Santa Margarita and Mission Viejo....

|La Pata Avenue serves San Juan Hills High School

San Juan Hills High School

San Juan Hills High School is a high school located in San Juan Capistrano, California, and it is the sixth high school of the Capistrano Unified School District...

|-
|rowspan=17|Riverside

Riverside County, California

RIV 0.00-96.01
|rowspan=2|Lake Elsinore

Lake Elsinore, California

For the lake see Lake Elsinore.Lake Elsinore or LE is a city in western Riverside County, California. The population was 51,821 at the 2010 census...

|11.83
|Grand Avenue – Lakeland Village

Lakeland Village, California

Lakeland Village is a census-designated place in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 11,541 at the 2010 census, more than double the 5,626 reported at the 2000 census.-Geography:...

|
|-
|17.24
|
|Interchange
|-
|rowspan=2|Perris

Perris, California

|bgcolor=#ddffdd|27.53
26.31Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along I-215

Interstate 215 (California)

Interstate 215 is a long north–south Interstate highway in the Inland Empire region of Southern California. It is an auxiliary route of Interstate 15 , running from Murrieta to northern San Bernardino...

rather than SR 74.
|bgcolor=#ddffdd|
|bgcolor=#ddffdd|Interchange; west end of I-215 overlap; former I-15E north / US 395

U.S. Route 395 in California

In the U.S. state of California, U.S. Route 395 is a route which traverses from Interstate 15 near the southern city limits of Hesperia, north to the Oregon state line in Modoc County near Goose Lake...

U.S. Route 395 in California

south
|-
|Homeland

Homeland, California

Hemet, California

Hemet-Ryan Airport

Hemet-Ryan Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport located three nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Hemet, in Riverside County, California, United States....

|-bgcolor=#ddffdd
|41.34
|
|East end of SR 79 overlap
|-
|
|Ramona Expressway
|
|-
|44.74
|Mountain Avenue – San Jacinto Reservoir
|
|-
|Mountain Center

Mountain Center, California

|59.25
|
|
|-
|
|
|Lake Hemet

Lake Hemet

(Hemet Lake Road)
|
|-
|
|71.75
|
|
|-
|rowspan=2|Palm Desert

Palm Desert, California

|96.01
|
|
|-
|96.01
|Monterey Avenue
|Continuation beyond SR 111

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