On Thursday, November 14, 2013, I had the opportunity to travel Jackrabbit Trail for this first time in many years. I took my new motorcycle, a 2014 Kawasaki KLR 650, which was well suited for the trip. Jackrabbit Trail is a roadway through the Badlands near Moreno Valley that has an interesting history. It was originally built in 1915 as a part of the Riverside to Beaumont Highway, later US 60/70. In 1923-24, the roadway was paved with asphalt. Some of this still exists today. In 1936, the roadway was bypassed by the current route of Hwy 60. However, in 1956, the roadway was rehabilitated for use as US 60 again, albeit temporarily, while the current route was being widened to a four lane expressway. Following this brief use, the old Jackrabbit Trail fell into disuse and eventually was abandoned. The County no longer maintains the road and just posts “Road Closed” signs at either end. It is, however, still a through route, with some landslide and washout problems.
1953 USGS topographical map showing Jackrabbit Trail between US 60 and Gilman Springs Road.
Looking north from Gilman Springs Road
My journey took me over the entire route in both directions, as the southern roadway was closed for reconstruction. I was rather amazed to see how much old railing still exists along the roadway, most of which is from the 1920’s. In many ways, this road is similar to the Ridge Route north of Los Angeles on old US 99. It was built around the same time and bypassed around the same time. The only major difference is that the Ridge Route was not reused by the highway department after it was bypassed. The roadway also offers some rather scenic views of the area. Mt San Gorgonio stays in view when heading north and the lake bed of Mystic Lake is quite visible to the south. I highly recommend this road as an alternative to SR-60 and is good for bicycling as well.
On Sunday, I went to the Redlands area to drop off a friend. I figured, why not see some old highway in the area and make the trip back more fun? So, after dropping him off, I headed over to Redlands Blvd. This is a section of old US 99 that still retains its concrete paving from the late 1940’s. I never really got any photos of it before, so it was good to see it still there. From Citrus Ave east, the roadway is more of an expressway, with a wide median and limited access.
After Redlands, the next section of old highway would prove a bit more interesting to get to. It was a short section of concrete paving, from the 1920’s most likely, and was located adjacent to the 10 freeway. I had to actually pull off the freeway shoulder to drive the short section. It was pretty neat, seeing as how this had been realigned so many times since that concrete was poured. I was hoping to return to the freeway by simply driving through. That idea was quickly thwarted when I found a tall curb at the shoulder. I had to back up and get on where I pulled off. So much for trying to be inconspicuous!
Redlands Blvd, “in town”
Divided section of Redlands Blvd, like an expressway.
Some of the concrete visible… seen just to the right of the shoulder.
More paving, both lanes now visible.
My next stop would be Robert Rd, near Cherry Valley Blvd. This section is threatened with removal or repaving as it is adjacent to a new large housing tract. So far, it is still intact. This nice concrete section dates to about 1928 and is one of the last sections of intact concrete around here. I took many photos here, hoping they wouldn’t be my last. The economic slowdown seems to have helped here, as the housing tract construction has slowed dramatically. At this point, I figured, I’ve gone this far… might as well go to the 60 junction and look around. So, I got back on the freeway, and took the San Timoteo Canyon Road exit. A frontage road heads east here, on the south side of the freeway. A portion of it is old US 99, complete with a 1939 bridge over San Timoteo Creek. Upon closer inspection of the bridge, I found that the eastbound I-10 bridge was also a part of old US 99. It was the original westbound bridge for the expressway, built in 1951. Now traffic is going the wrong way over it, from a historical context. One final stop was to be made, the old US 99 / US 60 / US 70 junction at the edge of Beaumont.
Short section of Roberts Rd that is now a driveway.
Roberts Rd, fairly pristine 1920’s concrete.
San Timoteo Creek Bridge from 1939
Old westbound bridge from 1950, now eastbound I-10.
I’d seen what appeared to be bridge piers and concrete approaches to an old bridge just north of the current SR-60. It turns out, that is exactly what they were. In 1936, the current westbound bridge for SR-60 (old US 60), was built. It replaced an earlier bridge, the one that I had been seeing pieces of. Today was finally my chance to walk around and see the old pieces. I was rather amazed at how much was left, considering how long ago it was all torn out. A fair amount of the eastern approach to the bridge remained, most of it buried under a thin layer of dirt. There wasn’t anything left of the western approach. I also got some photos of the exit sign for the 60 West from the 10 East. The sign was from 1960, and was overlaid with a SR-60 sign. Yes, there is a US 60 shield under there… just hope the overlay panel falls off at some point! After hiking around, it was time to head back. The approaching storm was getting worse, and the winds were picking up. I had a long drive ahead, and didn’t really want to do it in heavy rain. Thankfully, all I had to deal with was heavy winds and dust at times. I finally got to see some sections of old US 99 that I either hadn’t seen before, or weren’t sure were still around. More trips will be made up this way, just not during summer.
1936 Beaumont Overhead, now westbound SR-60
Remains of the earlier Beaumont Overhead
Some of the old approach still exists, with concrete.
