Taking The Best Motorcycling Routes From Palm Springs, California

Motorcyclists always seek thrill and scenic riding routes. California hosts a variety of scenic routes of all lengths. However, if you’re going on a trip out of Palm Springs, there are some routes you need to consider experiencing.

Here’s a list of some of the best motorcycling routes you can take from Palm Springs to California’s best parts.

The Palm To Pines Bayway Scenic Route

This ride’s core is on CA 74, appropriately known as the Palm To Pines Bayway Scenic Route. The road consists of two lanes that connect the desert city of Palm Desert with the mountains of Idyllwild. Start your ride in downtown Palm Springs and head out on Palm Canyon Drive to CA 111.

Continue onto the Palm Desert 20 minutes away onto CA 74 and head up into the mountains. CA 74 ends in Palm Desert but technically starts 111 miles away in San Juan Capistrano beach town in Orange County. This half-day ride from the beach of San Juan Capistrano through the high desert and the mountains of Idyllwild.

From Palm Desert to Idyllwild, the ride is about 50 miles and takes 90 minutes. The 50 miles rise to 6000 feet in elevation when passing through multiple landscapes and terrains. It all starts at the Palm Desert on the hot desert floor, where the summer temperature exceeds up to 120 degrees.

The road then twists up into the mountains carving through solid rock canyons. There are sheer drops and great views of the Coachella Valley, which lie a few thousand feet below you. Bikers need to pay attention to the road as there is no room for erroring. Many parts of the road consist of rock walls on one side and a guarded rail cliff.

You will rise into the more mountainous terrain, where the bighorn sheep warning signs will greet you. Wild animals can be found on the rock walls and cliffs above the road. The next area you’ll visit is the high desert when you enter Santa Rosa and Santa Jacinto Mountains National Monument.

This path leads into the first area of pine trees, and the road is lined with them for a couple of miles. These trees open up into the vast meadows backed with high peaks of San Jacinto mountains in Montana’s setting. You will now enter the area around Lake Hemet, where the road leads upward into the hills and San Bernardino National Forest. As the pine trees get taller, you’ll arrive I the Mountain Summit and into the town of Idyllwild.

Idyllwild, California

Idyllwild is home to thriving arts and music, making it the perfect weekend getaway or day-trip. You can have lunch at the Idyllwild Bakery and Brew and enter the town full of shops and art galleries. It’s possible to get lost in all the vibrance and spend hours simply wandering around in the town.

It’s surrounded by hiking trails and connects with several regional hiking routes. Here you can also find beds and breakfasts and small inns where you can spend the night.

To get to Idyllwild from Palm Springs, you will be taking the route I-10 W and CA- 243 to Maranatha Dr in Idyllwild-Pine Cove. From there, drive to Maranatha, and you’ll reach Idyllwild.


< Back to Blog

IF YOU’VE BEEN HURT, WE CAN HELP!

We don’t just want to talk about motorcycles, we also want to help motorcyclists who suffer the consequences when drivers don’t “back off.” If you were injured because a driver didn’t see you, failed to yield, or was driving while distracted, intoxicated, or simply too fast, then they deserve to be held accountable for what they did to you.

We know that motorcyclists get unfairly blamed for their own accidents all too often, and we’re here to help prove who was really at fault, and to get you the compensation you deserve. Find a Back Off My Bike lawyer near you.