Angeles Crest Highway Climb near Sierra Madre
- long (10.4 km)
- 6.5 mi
- long (10.4 km)
- of climbing (337 m)
- 1,106 ft
- of climbing (337 m)
- average grade
- 3.2%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 6.7%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 4,344 ft at the bottom to 5,449 ft at the top. Grades are averaged over each half kilometre, from USGS elevation data, so short ramps can be steeper than they show.
Weather at the top of Angeles Crest Highway this week
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Is it safe to bike up Angeles Crest Highway?
We don't rate roads as safe or unsafe: crash counts can't say how risky a ride is, and roads people like to ride draw more riders, so they see more crashes. What the records show: no bike crashes were reported along the climb from 2021–2025.
Common questions about Angeles Crest Highway
- How long and steep is the Angeles Crest Highway near Sierra Madre climb?
- 6.5 miles (10.4 km) at 3.2% on average, climbing 1,106 ft (337 m) from 4,344 ft to 5,449 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 6.7%. That makes it a Category 2 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 34.27045, -118.06121, and tops out on the road at 34.3014, -118.01328.
- Is Angeles Crest Highway paved?
- Yes, by its OpenStreetMap tags.
- How is the category worked out?
- From the climb's shape only: length in metres × average grade (%) of 16,000 or more for Cat 3, 32,000 for Cat 2, 64,000 for Cat 1 and 80,000 for HC. It describes how hard the climb is, not traffic or crashes.
- Where does this data come from?
- The climb is found from OpenStreetMap roads and USGS 3DEP elevation (every climb, not a list of famous ones). Access is from OpenStreetMap tags; gates and closures change, so obey posted signs. Crash counts are police reports in the California Crash Reporting System (CCRS) on data.ca.gov, counted where their map location is within 100 ft of the climb. The forecast is from the National Weather Service.
Other climbs nearby
- Mount Disappointment RoadCat 3 · 2.8 mi at 7% · 1,020 ft · starts 2.6 mi away
- Mount Wilson Red Box RoadCat 3 · 4.3 mi at 4.6% · 1,030 ft · starts 2.6 mi away
- Upper Big Tujunga Canyon RoadCat 2 · 5.9 mi at 4.1% · 1,276 ft · starts 3.3 mi away
- Angeles Crest Highway near Sierra MadreCat 2 · 6.6 mi at 5% · 1,732 ft · starts 5.1 mi away
- Angeles Forest Highway from Big Tujunga Narrows Bridge near La Cañada FlintridgeCat 2 · 8.2 mi at 4.7% · 2,044 ft · starts 5.3 mi away
- Angeles Forest Highway from Big Tujunga Narrows Bridge near La Cañada FlintridgeCat 3 · 3.5 mi at 3% · 564 ft · starts 5.3 mi away
- Mount Wilson Toll RoadHC · dirt · 8.7 mi at 9.5% · 4,383 ft · starts 5.9 mi away
- Mount Lowe MotorwayHC · 5.7 mi at 8.8% · 2,667 ft · starts 6.2 mi away
Places to ride to nearby
Found from OpenStreetMap roads and USGS 3DEP elevation; ranked on shape only. Category 2: length in metres × average grade (%) of 16,000 or more for Cat 3, 32,000 for Cat 2, 64,000 for Cat 1 and 80,000 for HC. It describes how hard the climb is, not traffic or crashes. Crashes: bike crashes reported within 100 ft of the climb, 2021–2025, from the California Crash Reporting System (CCRS), counted only where the report has map coordinates. Weather: National Weather Service. Access from OpenStreetMap tags; obey posted signs. How the data works.