Banning, at the foot of Route 243 in the windy San Gorgonio Pass — the end of the drive, where the mountains give way to the valley, the wind turbines spin, and the great transect from palms to pines runs out at last. The grand finale.
And here you are — down off the mountain at last, rolling into Banning, in the floor of the San Gorgonio Pass. Take a breath and think about what you just did: you started this drive down among the palm trees on the desert floor, you climbed up through five different worlds to a mile-high pine forest, and you came down the far side into this great windy gap between the two highest mountains in Southern California. Palms to pines and back down again — one of the finest short drives anywhere in the West, and you just drove the whole thing.
You'll likely feel the wind here in the pass, and you'll see what it's good for: off to the west, thousands of white wind turbines marching across the hills. This gap funnels the wind so reliably that it's become one of the great wind-power places in the country — the desert air and the ocean air forever trading places through this narrow pass, right between Old Greyback to the north and San Jacinto to the south. From here Interstate 10 will carry you east back to Palm Springs and the desert, or west toward Los Angeles.
On behalf of Ranger Boone Merrick and myself, thank you for driving the Palms to Pines with us — for the desert overlooks and the pinyon woods, the high green meadows and that record-setting old dam, the mountain town and the tales of Tahquitz. If you enjoyed the tour, we'd be grateful if you'd leave us a review; it genuinely helps other travelers find these drives, and helps us keep making them. Drive safe out of the pass, and come back and climb this mountain again someday. This has been Ranger Quinn — wishing you well, and safe travels.
Photo: Spiglanin · CC BY 4.0
