California State Route 62

Highway in California

State Route 62 (SR 62) is a state highway in the U. S. state of California that cuts across the Little San Bernardino Mountains in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Its western terminus is at Interstate 10 in unincorporated Riverside County outside the borders of Whitewater and Palm Springs. Its eastern terminus is at the Arizona state line just east of Parker, Arizona. The highway passes through the city of Twentynine Palms and along the northern boundary of the Joshua Tree National Park.

The route cuts across the Little San Bernardino Mountains along southern San Bernardino County. Route 62 begins at a freeway to freeway interchange with Interstate 10 at the eastern end of the San Gorgonio Pass northwest of Palm Springs in Riverside County. It heads due north until its intersection with SR 247 in Yucca Valley, and then it heads east through the unincorporated community of Joshua Tree and the city of Twentynine Palms. In 1970, Route 62 ended at the eastern city limit of Twentynine Palms, but it was later extended along the northern boundary of the Joshua Tree National Park to meet Arizona State Route 95 in Parker, Arizona. East of Twentynine Palms, there is a sign warning drivers that there are no services for 100 mile (161 km) until reaching Vidal Junction where SR 62 meets US 95. This is one of the most desolate stretches of highway in California, and consequently, the most heavily traveled portion is between I 10 and Twentynine Palms. Travelers between the eastern Coachella Valley and the river utilize that more desolate stretch as the fastest route to the resorts of the Colorado River, accessing it via California State Route 177 in Desert Center. In 2014, the Palm Springs Desert Sun newspaper reported that a dozen marines from the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms have been killed in accidents on Highway 62 since 2007 (out of a total of 33 vehicle related deaths among personnel at the base); the paper attributed the problem in part to the base's unusually remote location, leaving personnel few options for entertainment. SR 62 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, and west of the military base is part of the National Highway System, a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration. SR 62 is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System, and is recognized by Caltrans as a scenic highway for 9 mile (14 km) from its western terminus at I 10 to the Riverside–San Bernardino county line, meaning that it is a substantial section of highway passing through a "memorable landscape" with no "visual intrusions", where the potential designation has gained popular favor with the community. SR 62 is designated as a Blue Star Memorial Highway from Interstate 10 to Adobe Road in Twentynine Palms. SR 62 is known as the Twentynine Palms Highway from I 10 to SR 177.

The routing west of Twentynine Palms was added to the state highway system in phases, with the part from White Water to Morongo Valley added in 1935, and from Morongo Valley to Yucca Valley in 1959; both were designated as Route 187. From Yucca Valley to Twentynine Palms, Route 218 was added in 1961. In the 1964 state highway renumbering, SR 62 was designated from I 10 into the town of Twentynine Palms. The portion from Twentynine Palms to Arizona was added to SR 62 in 1970.