Big Basin Way Climb from North Escape Road
- long (8.4 km)
- 5.3 mi
- long (8.4 km)
- of climbing (294 m)
- 965 ft
- of climbing (294 m)
- average grade
- 3.5%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 5.6%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 1,001 ft at the bottom to 1,965 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 Big Basin Way this week
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Is it safe to bike up Big Basin Way?
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 Big Basin Way
- How long and steep is the Big Basin Way from North Escape Road climb?
- 5.3 miles (8.4 km) at 3.5% on average, climbing 965 ft (294 m) from 1,001 ft to 1,965 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 5.6%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 37.1711, -122.22226, where Big Basin Way leaves North Escape Road, and tops out on the road at 37.19688, -122.18184.
- Is Big Basin Way 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
- Lodge RoadCat 3 · 3.8 mi at 3.1% · 610 ft · starts 0.3 mi away
- Memory Lane from China Grade RoadCat 3 · 1.5 mi at 7.1% · 551 ft · starts 3.1 mi away
- China Grade Road near SaratogaCat 2 · 5.2 mi at 5.4% · 1,480 ft · starts 3.2 mi away
- Jamison Creek RoadCat 2 · 3.0 mi at 9.3% · 1,483 ft · starts 3.9 mi away
- Big Basin Way near SaratogaCat 3 · 3.1 mi at 4.2% · 692 ft · starts 4.6 mi away
- Two Bar RoadCat 3 · 3.8 mi at 3.9% · 791 ft · starts 5.4 mi away
- Portola State Park RoadCat 2 · 3.5 mi at 6.7% · 1,217 ft · starts 5.6 mi away
- Gazos Creek RoadCat 2 · 4.2 mi at 5.4% · 1,201 ft · starts 5.8 mi away
Found from OpenStreetMap roads and USGS 3DEP elevation; ranked on shape only. Category 3: 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.