Palms to Pines Scenic Byway
National Forest Scenic Byway 65 mi in California.
About the Palms to Pines Scenic Byway
This 67-mile route will take you from Palm Desert past snow-peaked mountains to Banning Pass. Palms to Pines Scenic Byway offers a full variety of ecosystems in the Lower Sonoran region. From clusters of desert palms to high country conifer forests and snow-capped mountains, experience a contrast of ecosystems within a short distance.
Admire fantastic views of the urbanized valley floor below, craggy mountains, and the San Gorgonio Wilderness area to the north on the Banning Pass section of the byway. Start on Hwy 74 south of Palm Desert or at the other end on Hwy 243 south of Banning.
Exercise caution entering and exiting the highway. Slower traffic please use designated turnouts
US Forest Service's own description, in its words. Byway page on fs.usda.gov.
Camping along the byway
- Mile 16 · 1.9 mi offBoulder Basin · Forest Service · 37 sites · reservable
- Mile 17 · 2.5 mi offBlack Mountain (San Bernardino) · Forest Service · 1 sites · reservable
- Mile 18 · 0.7 mi offDark Canyon Campground · Forest Service · 4 sites · reservable
- Mile 18 · 0.6 mi offMarion Mountain · Forest Service · 27 sites · reservable
- Mile 18 · on the roadFern Basin · Forest Service · 23 sites · reservable
- Mile 24 · 1.4 mi offIdyllwild Regional Park · City, county or regional park · reservable
- Mile 24 · on the roadMount San Jacinto State Park · State park · reservable
- Mile 28 · 0.5 mi offMcCall Memorial Regional Park · City, county or regional park · reservable
- Mile 32 · on the roadHurkey Creek Regional Park · City, county or regional park · reservable
- Mile 32 · on the roadLake Hemet Campground · City, county or regional park · reservable
- Mile 50 · on the roadPinyon Flat Campground · Forest Service
- Mile 50 · on the roadPinyon Flat Campground (San Bernardino National Forest) · Forest Service · 4 sites · reservable
- Mile 50 · 0.6 mi offRibbonwood Equestrian Cg · Forest Service · 9 sites · reservable
Public campgrounds within 5 miles of the road as the crow flies, in order along the byway; each one's page has its facts, season and weather by month.
About this page's facts
The line is the Federal Highway Administration's scenic byways layer (HEPGIS, a snapshot of 2022-06-24, a US government work), cut at the state line and simplified for the map; the length is the line's. The designation is the program's own: the national tiers from FHWA's America's Byways roster, the rest from the layer's designation field. Road conditions, closures and seasonal gates change: check the agency's own page and the state's road conditions before you go.