Route 215 is from Route 15 near Temecula to Route 15 near
Devore via Riverside and San Bernardino. [CS&HC Sec. 515]
Signed as an Interstate highway.
Entire route. [CS&HC Sec. 253.1]
Entire route. From the southern junction of Route 15 to the southern junction of Route
60, it is called the "Escondido Freeway". From Route 60 to Route 91, it is called the
"Riverside Freeway". From Route 91 to the northern junction of Route 15, it is called the
"Barstow Freeway".
Route 215 from Route 74 near Romoland to Route 74 near Perris. [CS&HC Sec. 263.8]
Perris is home to the world-famous Orange Empire Railway Museum. It has the largest
collection of railway locomotives in the West, and also includes passenger and freight cars,
streetcars, interurban electric cars, buildings and other artifacts dating from the 1870's. You
can ride streetcars, interurban cars and trains on the museum railway. Trolleys and trains
operate every weekend and on most major holidays, 11AM to 5PM. The museum also has
the Pinacate Station Museum Store. The museum is open daily (except Thanksgiving and
Christmas), 9AM to 5PM. To get there from Route 215, exit at Route 74 West, head west
on Route 74 for one mile, and make a left on A Street. For more information, call
(909)943-3020.
Lake Perris State Recreation Area contains numerous activities, including boating,
windsurfing, horseback riding, and group, family, and trail camping. Boat mooring, ramps,
and rentals, as well as RV hookups and a dump station are also available. Reservations are
recommended. Lake Perris is at the Ramona Expressway exit, heading east.
After that, you can visit the March Field Air Museum, which houses over 60 historic
aircraft and many displays that educate visitors on the history of March Field. From the
museum, you can also watch modern military aircraft land and take off daily. To reach the
museum, exit at Van Buren Boulevard. It's not hard to miss: Its distinctive checkerboard
roof can be readily seen from the Interstate 215 freeway.
Routes 60 and 215 are duplexed in Riverside. There, you can access UC Riverside.
According to its website, "[t]he roots of the campus date back to 1907 when the California
State Legislature established the Citrus Experiment Station to conduct research on the
agricultural problems of Southern California. Graduate work was conducted early in the
station's history, and today, graduate education is central to its mission." Today, the
university is home to numerous graduate, post-doctorate, and professional programs. Next
to the university is the UCR Botanic Gardens. The Gardens is a living plant museum with more
than 3,500 plant species from around the world for visitors and researchers to see and study.
To reach the university and gardens, exit Martin Luther King Boulevard and turn right. Turn
right again at Canyon Crest Avenue to enter the UCR Campus. Follow the Botanic Gardens
signs through campus and Parking Lot 13 to reach the cedar-lined drive to the Gardens entrance
and free parking area.
Another university en route is CSU San Bernardino. Founded in 1965, the campus offers
more than 50 traditional baccalaureate and master's degree programs along with a wide variety
of education credential and certificate programs to a student body of 16,000. To reach it, exit
at University Parkway and head north (crossing former Route 206 at Kendall Drive).
Route 215 from Route 10 to Route 210, an old freeway in itself, parallels a much-older
railway that runs on its west side. Because of this, the freeway contains a zany configuration of
tight left-lane off- and on-ramps, which force vehicles to exit towards the east. The California
Transportation Commission plans to add HOV lanes in this portion, so ramp reconfiguration is
possible in the future. Also, the offramp from northbound Route 215 to eastbound Route 30
(now Route 210) is really Route 259.
California State Highways (Pull-down)
California State Highways (Tables)
The Main Page