San Gorgonio Pass - Roads

Roads

Interstate 10 and State Route 60 (former U.S. Route 60) intersect at the western end of the pass in Beaumont and climbs through Banning at its peak before reaching down the town of Cabazon, where it begins to descend steeply towards the Coachella Valley. The eastern end of the pass is at the junction of Interstate 10 and State Route 111 near Whitewater Canyon. The Southern Pacific Railroad (now the Union Pacific) laid down tracks through the pass in 1875, and in 1952 an expressway was built through the pass, carrying U.S. Route 99 and U.S. Route 60. There are still portions of the old US 99 route between Whitewater Canyon and Cabazon. Main Street in Cabazon, Ramsey Street in Banning, 6th Street in Beaumont, and Roberts Road in Calimesa are all old sections of US 99.

The San Gorgonio Pass area tends to get snow at least once or twice during the winter months, although it rarely, if ever, sticks to hard surfaces, such as the freeway or city streets. The most famous sight on San Gorgonio Pass is the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm on its eastern slope, as it marks the gateway into the Coachella Valley. (The pass is one of the windiest places in Southern California.) Also nearby are the Cabazon Dinosaurs on the north side of the freeway from Cabazon.