California's Best Trips 2 - Full PDF eBook

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Morongo

Indian

Reservation

Bighorn

Mountain

Wilderness

San

Gorgonio

Wilderness

Sugarloaf

cm^18

cm^38

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history, park at the US

Forest Service (USFS)

trailhead near Mormon

Rocks Fire Station, about

2 miles west of I-15. The

trailhead is just west of

Lone Pine Canyon Rd,

which grants views of

California’s rollicking,

earthquake-prone San

Andreas Fault.

The Drive » Backtrack east

on Hwy 138 and cross over I-15,

continuing eastward as the road

twists and turns uphill into the

San Bernardino Mountains.

Scrubby desert brush beside

a railroad line slowly gives way

to mountain forests over the

10-mile trip to Silverwood Lake

Vista Point. Continue downhill

across the Mojave River bridge

for almost another 6 miles.

2 Silverwood

Lake State

Recreation Area

About 4 miles past

USFS Cottonwood

Station, turn left into

the Miller Canyon Unit

of Silverwood Lake

State Recreation Area

(%760-389-2281; http://www.

parks.ca.gov; entry per car

$10; h7am-5pm Fri-Tue,

extended daily hr Jun-Aug).

Surrounded by native

Californian chaparral,

this artificial reservoir

gets packed on weekends

when scores of families

show up for picnicking,

swimming, boating and

fishing along its 13-mile

shoreline below Cedar

Springs Dam. For a

quiet hike or to do some

bird-watching, come on

a weekday in spring or

fall. The Miller Canyon

Trail meanders for 3.5

miles from Miller Canyon

group camping area to

Serrano Beach, passing

Devils Pit swimming

hole and Lynx Point for

panoramic views of the

San Bernardino and

San Gabriel Mountains,

before meeting a paved

lakeside cycling path by

the marina.

The Drive » Back uphill at

Hwy 138, turn left and drive

southeast toward Crestline.

Bordered by stately pine and

oak trees, the highway narrows

and twists further into the deep

forest, gaining elevation. After

less than 5 miles, veer left onto

Knapp’s Cutoff Rd (signposted

as ‘Lake Gregory 1 mile’), then

left again onto Lake Dr, which

reaches the lakeshore.

3 Lake Gregory

A relaxing family

vacation spot, where kids

can splash around in the

calm water all summer

long, this reservoir

was built by the Works

Progress Administration

(WPA) during the

Depression era. In what

SoCal citrus-growing

magnate Arthur Gregory

once romantically called

the Valley of the Moon,

u

Route 66

California’s original

road trip, the ‘Mother Road’

follows I-15 over Cajon Pass,

intersecting with the Rim of

the World Scenic Byway.

y

Palms to Pines

Scenic Byway

South of Hwy 38 and

Yucaipa, take I-10

eastbound to Banning to

drive this roller-coaster

mountains-and-desert route

in reverse.

LINK

YOUR

TRIP

325

SOUTHERN.CALIFORNIA..

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.BIG BEAR & RIM OF THE WORLD SCENIC BYWAY