Highway 243, Banning to Idyllwild
- mapped
- 33.9 mi
- mapped
- motorcycle crashes, 2021–2025
- 24
- motorcycle crashes, 2021–2025
- serious or fatal
- 4
- serious or fatal
- fatal
- 0
- fatal
Is Highway 243, Banning to Idyllwild open today?
No Caltrans closures listed.
2 more closures listed later this week
- One-way traffic controlRoute 74 → Near Forest Rte 4S01 · Striping Operation · North / SouthMon 8:01 AM – Mon 4:59 PM; Tue 8:01 AM – Tue 4:59 PM; Wed 8:01 AM – Wed 4:59 PM; Thu 8:01 AM – Thu 4:59 PM; Fri 8:01 AM – Fri 4:59 PM · Caltrans
- One-way traffic controlMarian View Dr → Saunders Meadow Rd · Tree Work · NorthWed 7:01 AM – Wed 5:01 PM · Caltrans
Checked Sat, Nov 14, 2:39 PM Pacific. These lists don't include every closure: Forest Service gates and fire closures can be missing. All riding roads this week.
Is Highway 243, Banning to Idyllwild safe to ride on a motorcycle?
We don't rate roads as safe or unsafe: crash counts can't say how risky a road is, and popular riding roads have more crashes partly because more people ride them. What the records show: 24 motorcycle crashes were reported along its 33.9 mapped miles from 2021–2025, 4 of them serious or fatal. 67% involved no other vehicle. What to watch for: Steep, tight hairpins on the Banning side, weekend visitors to Idyllwild, and snow and ice in winter.
This week's weather
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Motorcycle crashes and deaths on Highway 243, Banning to Idyllwild
24 motorcycle crashes were reported within 60 m of the road from 2021–2025: 4 killed or seriously injured someone, and 0 were fatal. 67% involved no other vehicle. Busier roads have more crashes partly because more people ride them, so these counts don't say how risky the road is.
Bends, straights and junctions
Outside city limits, 25 motorcycle crashes were reported on Highway 243, Banning to Idyllwild from 2021–2026, 5 of them within 40 m of a junction. Of the other 20, 18 (90%) were in bends tighter than a 100 m radius, which make up 51% of the road. So crashes gather in the bends, more than their share of the road. 15 of the 18 crashes with no other vehicle were in bends.
A crash alone in a bend usually means running wide or losing grip: set your speed before the bend, look through it, and expect gravel, sand or diesel mid-corner.
Crashes with another vehicle in bends are often an oncoming car across the centre line: keep away from the centre line in blind bends.
The bends with the most crashes
- 4 crashes in one bend: 4 with no other vehicle, 0 of 4 on the grade going downhill; tightest radius about 64 m.
How we tell bends from straights, and every riding road compared
Camping near Highway 243, Banning to Idyllwild
Campgrounds and RV parks within about 5 miles of the road (straight line), nearest first. Seasons, fire restrictions and closures change, so check with whoever runs it before you go.
- Lawler Lodge and Alpine CabinsRiverside County Parks Dept · 5,298 ft · on the roadOn the map
- Hike and Bike CampsiteCalifornia State Parks · 5,433 ft · on the road · feeOn the map
- Mount San Jacinto State Park Idyllwild CampgroundState Dept of Parks and Rec · 5,411 ft · 0.1 mi from the road · water, toilets, showersOn the map
- Banning Stagecoach KOA RV Park and StorageRV park · 2,234 ft · 0.1 mi from the road · feeOn the mapWebsite
- Idyllwild Pines Camp5,214 ft · 0.1 mi from the roadOn the map
- Buckhorn Camp5,721 ft · 0.1 mi from the roadOn the mapWebsite
Campgrounds from Recreation.gov (federal campgrounds, 2026-10-18) and OpenStreetMap (2026-09-28); water, toilets and showers only where they're listed. Elevation from USGS.
Common questions about Highway 243, Banning to Idyllwild
- What is Highway 243, Banning to Idyllwild like to ride?
- The Panoramic Highway from Banning up into the San Jacinto Mountains and Idyllwild.
- How long is Highway 243, Banning to Idyllwild?
- About 33.9 miles as mapped in OpenStreetMap, for the stretch we cover.
- Is Highway 243, Banning to Idyllwild open today?
- As of Sat, Nov 14, 2:39 PM Pacific, no Caltrans or LA County closures are listed on it today. These lists don't include every closure (Forest Service gates and fire closures can be missing), so check Caltrans QuickMap before you go.
Other riding roads nearby
Crashes: motorcycle crashes reported within 60 m of the road, 2021–2025, from the California Crash Reporting System (CCRS). Road: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Weather: National Weather Service. Distances to other roads are between their middles, in a straight line. How the data works.