I-8 straddles the San Diego–Imperial county line for a few miles before turning east. At the Mountain Springs/In Ko Pah grade, the freeway is routed down two separate canyons—Devils Canyon for westbound traffic and In-Ko-Pah Gorge for eastbound traffic—as it descends in . In places, the median is over wide. This portion of the road is known for high winds through the canyons that have made driving difficult, sometimes resulting in closure of the freeway; in 1966, the California Highway Patrol estimated that winds blew at speeds of up to . The route enters the Imperial Valley, where it intersects with SR 98, a highway leading to Calexico, and passes near the Desert View Tower. I-8 then goes through Coyote Wells before entering the city of El Centro several miles later.