State Route 74, a part of the Pines to Palms Scenic Byway, is a mostly scenic highway that runs from Palm Desert in Riverside County westward to San Juan Capistrano in Orange County.

    As the highway leaves Palm Desert near the Bighorn Country Club, the site of golf's "Battle at Bighorn," it begins a winding, 20 mile (32 km) journey to Garner Valley near the top of the Santa Rosa Mountains. This picturesque stretch is also referred to as the "Palms to Pines Highway." Even for those who have never been to California, the route is a familiar one. It is one of the most popular locations in the country for automotive periodical photo shoots and road tests.

    The road straightens out considerably where it meets with State Route 371 near Anza, where Red Skelton had his home and art studio. Through Garner Valley, the scenery is among the finest in California. Sharp-eyed movie fans will recognize it as the road on which Elvis Presley drove his Model T on his way to the nearby village of Idyllwild in the movie, Kid Galahad.

    Past Lake Hemet, Route 74 climbs back into the mountains for another 30 miles (48 km) of spectacular scenery on its way to Hemet where it becomes a surface street called Florida Avenue. It continues westward through the communities of Perris and Lake Elsinore. It merges with Interstate 215 for three miles (5 km) east of Perris before splitting in Perris, where it resumes its westward journey.