Whitewater is a small, unincorporated Riverside County community wedged into the San Gorgonio Pass, the dramatic gap where the San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains part to let the desert and the coastal basin exchange weather. The community sits directly on Interstate 10, roughly halfway between North Palm Springs and Cabazon, along the main route between Palm Springs and Los Angeles. Its elevation of about 1,575 feet and its position in the pass give it a windswept, high-desert character distinct from the resort towns of the Coachella Valley below. Wind defines Whitewater more than anything else. The San Gorgonio Pass is one of the windiest places in California, and the community is the namesake and gateway for the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm, one of the oldest large wind-energy developments in the country. The idea of harnessing the pass's wind was promoted as early as the 1920s, and the first modern turbine went up around 1980. Today hundreds of turbines march across the ridgelines north of the highway, a landmark visible to every traveler crossing the pass. Whitewater's other signature is the Whitewater Preserve, a 2,851-acre sanctuary managed by The Wildlands Conservancy at the mouth of Whitewater Canyon. The preserve protects a stretch of the Whitewater River, a stream that rises in the high San Gorgonio Wilderness and flows toward Palm Springs, and offers trails, camping, and canyon scenery. The site has a layered history as the Whitewater Trout Company farm, established in 1939, and later as a trout hatchery before its restoration as open space; the preserve forms part of the larger Sand to Snow National Monument landscape. Residents rely on schools, shopping, and services in nearby Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, and Cabazon. Who Whitewater suits: it appeals to those who want a low-density desert setting with dramatic mountain-and-wind-farm scenery, immediate access to hiking and open space, and a location that puts Palm Springs, the Coachella Valley, and the highway to Los Angeles within easy reach.