Total 911 Great Roads

Rainbow Canyon Road, California, USA

• Great Roads
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• Josh Barnett
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• 1 comments

Enjoying the phenomenal capabilities of our 911s on a variety of roads is one of the great joys in life. A thrilling road for 911 owners undulates for approximately 21 miles through the mountains and hills of San Diego and Riverside counties, delivering you down onto Rainbow Canyon Road in the sprawling Temecula Valley.

Heading North from San Diego via the 15 Freeway, exit at Deer Springs Road. Turn right and then a quick left onto historic route “Old Highway 395”. This route has been here long before the nearby freeway.

This entertaining drive runs mostly parallel with the busy 15 Freeway yet has very light traffic. The first 14 miles of the road rises, falls, and banks through the hills surrounding the freeway. Building up speed is astonishingly easy as there are long straights in the early parts of the drive.

Gaining speed, a little further up the road your 911 passes a US border patrol station nestled in the hills next to the freeway, as taking this course avoids having to stop for an inspection.

Bursting past avocado fields and a rustic cowboy country inn restaurant named Rainbow Oaks on your right, it isn’t long before you find yourself crossing the San Diego County line and descending into the Temecula Valley in Riverside County.

As the road starts to narrow, you quickly find the turns become dramatically tighter and the banking angle in the turns becomes significantly acute. Stay focussed as cars coming up the canyon at speed can easily cross over the centre dividing line.

There are crash barriers to your right as you catch your first glimpse of the spectacular urban landscape below. It’s a wonderful mix of desert and suburbia and in the summer it isn’t uncommon to see a rattlesnake slither across this serpent-like road.

Many of the approximately 18 rapid-fire corners you face during the last 6.9 miles are blind and will undoubtedly get your blood pumping. As you naturally gather pace due to the drop in elevation, the tighter corners may cause your 911’s rear to twitch, testing your skills and the limit of your beloved Porsche.

The last eight corners are exhilarating as you rush past an area popular for mountain biking and hiking. The final right sweeping turn dispatches your 911 straight through a beautiful golf course. Make certain you quickly drop speed to ensure you don’t collide with golf carts crossing Rainbow Canyon Road destined for the famed 19th hole.