Cat 3 climb · Paved

Big Tujunga Canyon Road Climb

Ends at a gate. Near La Cañada Flintridge.
long (5.6 km)
3.5 mi
long (5.6 km)
of climbing (311 m)
1,020 ft
of climbing (311 m)
average grade
5.6%
average grade
steepest 500 m
9%
steepest 500 m

Elevation profile

2,2243,2451 mi2 mi3 mi0
Grade per 500 m:under 3%3–5%5–7%7–9%9–12%12% and up

From 2,224 ft at the bottom to 3,245 ft at the top. Grades are averaged over each half kilometre, from USGS elevation data, so short ramps can be steeper than they show.

Map of the Big Tujunga Canyon Road climb
S: bottom, E: top. Map © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap.

Weather at the top of Big Tujunga Canyon Road this week

Weather

Loading forecast…

Is it safe to bike up Big Tujunga Canyon 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. What the records show: no bike crashes were reported along the climb from 2021–2025.

Common questions about Big Tujunga Canyon Road

How long and steep is the Big Tujunga Canyon Road climb?
3.5 miles (5.6 km) at 5.6% on average, climbing 1,020 ft (311 m) from 2,224 ft to 3,245 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 9%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
Where does the climb start and finish?
It starts at 34.28308, -118.20335, and ends at a gate at 34.29692, -118.1613.
Is Big Tujunga Canyon Road 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

Places to ride to nearby

Bike crash hotspots nearby

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.