Driving tourFree

Pasadena to Palm Springs Driving Tour

An audio tour that plays itself. Each story starts as you drive past the place it happened.

A geology and history tour of the countryside around you as you head east on the 210 and 10 freeways to Palm Springs.

25Stops

160.6 miDistance

38mNarration

Written by historians, never AIResearched & written by Marc Striegel

Start free See the route

Pasadena to Palm Springs Aerial View Satellite H Cake

On the ground

How a tour plays

Download before you go

Get the app, pick this tour, and download it. Everything works offline after that.

Drive or walk the route

Follow the route with your phone in your pocket. Nothing to tap.

Stories start on their own

Each one begins the moment you reach the place it's about.

Researched & written by

Marc Striegel

About this tour

Behind this route

This driving tour starts in Pasadena and heads east on the 210 freeway, connecting via the 57 to the 10 west to Palm Springs, covering the geology and history of the lands along the way.

The route

See how the route unfolds

Numbered stops show the listening order. Off-path points of interest are marked separately.

driving tour

4h 18mestimated

258.4 km / 160.6 mi

25 stops

What you'll hear along the way

Stop 1

210E at Sierra Madre Villa - Pasadena - Begin tour

p 161 - 1

Stop 2

210E - Duarte and San Gabriel Canyon

This range to your north as you drive along is comprised of some of the youngest, fastest rising and, most rapidly deteriorating mountains in all the United States. The San Gabriels and eastern cousin, the San Bernardino mountains and the valleys below are the subject matter of our drive today.

Stop 3

San Dimas

San Dimas, a city of about 35,000 people, is located approximately thirty miles east of downtown Los Angeles, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and straddling the San Gabriel and Pomona valleys.

Stop 4

210 transition to 57 south

We turn south now and climb a small set of hills just north of the now vanished community of Spadra, uncle Billy Rubottom's community of yore.

Stop 5

57 to 10 East transition and Spadra

As we crest the hill and drop into the Pomona Valley, we can step back to Californio days of Spain and Mexico owning the land and cattle on a thousand hills.

Stop 6

Pomona

Pomona is the name of a Roman goddess of fruit and it was the winner in an 1875 contest when it was founded - but not a fruit tree had been planted there at the time...

Stop 7

Montclair

The earliest known inhabitants of the area were from the Serrano tribe of Native Americans.

Stop 8

Ontario and the Jurupa Hills and Rancho

We are now entering Ontario and the old Jurupa Rancho of Don Juan Bandini and the still named Jurupa Hills...

Stop 9

10 and 15 freeway intersection

The 10 East/West and the 15 North/South is a major inland crossing of the roads. To the east lies Palm Springs and Arizona and to the north Barstow, Las Vegas and Death Valley and south to San Diego and the Mexico border

Ontario, CA

Stop 10

10 E at Sierra - Fontana - Looking North to Cajon Pass

Stop 11

Rialto, West Colton and Agua Mansa

p 161 -2

Stop 12

10E and 111 Highway split

Take the 111

Whitewater, CA

Stop 23

111 HWY at Windy Point

Whitewater, CA

Stop 24

111 HWY East of Windy Point

North Palm Springs, CA

Stop 25

111 Highway - Arrival in Palm Springs

Out now

Go walk it.

Download the free History Cake app, open this tour, and each story plays itself as you reach the spot.