Babbitt Road Climb
- long (9.7 km)
- 6.0 mi
- long (9.7 km)
- of climbing (751 m)
- 2,464 ft
- of climbing (751 m)
- average grade
- 7.7%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 11.7%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 6,273 ft at the bottom to 8,737 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 Babbitt Road this week
Loading forecast…
Is it safe to bike up Babbitt Road?
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. Most of this climb is a dirt road, and falls away from public roads rarely reach police reports. What the records show: no bike crashes were reported along the climb from 2021–2025.
Common questions about Babbitt Road
- How long and steep is the Babbitt Road climb?
- 6.0 miles (9.7 km) at 7.7% on average, climbing 2,464 ft (751 m) from 6,273 ft to 8,737 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 11.7%. That makes it a Category 1 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 39.55982, -120.14635, where Babbitt Road leaves Smithneck Road, and tops out at Babbitt Peak at 39.6018, -120.10571.
- Is Babbitt Road paved?
- Mostly not: OpenStreetMap tags 100% of the climb as dirt or gravel. Dirt roads can be closed in fire season or after rain, so check with the land manager.
- 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
- Antelope Valley Road near LoyaltonCat 3 · 3.5 mi at 3.8% · 705 ft · starts 7.5 mi away
- Balls Canyon RoadCat 1 · dirt · 8.0 mi at 5.5% · 2,303 ft · starts 11 mi away
- Antelope Valley Road near LoyaltonCat 3 · 4.4 mi at 3.4% · 791 ft · starts 11 mi away
- Nichols Mill RoadCat 1 · dirt · 8.0 mi at 5.6% · 2,375 ft · starts 12 mi away
- Old Truckee RoadCat 3 · 2.9 mi at 3.7% · 577 ft · starts 12 mi away
- South Lincoln StreetCat 2 · 7.9 mi at 3.4% · 1,414 ft · starts 12 mi away
- Alder Creek Road from Stony Creek CourtCat 3 · 5.1 mi at 3.1% · 850 ft · starts 13 mi away
- The StrandCat 3 · 1.5 mi at 7.3% · 594 ft · starts 15 mi away
Found from OpenStreetMap roads and USGS 3DEP elevation; ranked on shape only. Category 1: 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.