California Touge.Best driving roads in California

Banning–Idyllwild Panoramic Highway · SR 243

The climb from Banning up the San Jacinto range to Idyllwild, through switchbacks and pine forest.

TechnicalDifficulty 3/3 · DemandingSan Jacinto Mountains

Road shape

Length
21.7 mi
Bends
95
Switchbacks
11
Bends per mile
4.4
Turning per mile
452°
Curviest rank
47of 85

Measured from the OpenStreetMap centreline at a 20 m sampling step — road shape only, not a safety or speed judgement. How bends are counted.

Elevation

Low 2,231 ft21.7 miHigh 6,178 ft
Total climb
5,287ft
Climb per mile
244ft
Highest point
6,208ft
Steepest grade
6.4%

Sampled every 100 m from USGS 10 m elevation data, a public-domain federal dataset. Total climb counts vertical change in both directions, so it does not depend on which way you drive. How elevation is measured.

Speed limits

Varies

Unverified

No posted limit has been verified for this selected section. Follow current signs.

No posted limit has been verified for this selected section. Follow current signs.

Posted signs always govern. How speed evidence is handled.

Sources

Difficulty 3/3 (Demanding) is our editorial rating of width, bends and sightlines; “Technical” describes character, not a target speed. Full method. Identified from:

Reviewed 2026-09-09. The trace shows selected road sections, not a navigation route.

Roads nearby

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