Safe Streets Map
Cat 3 climb · Paved

Blue Star Memorial Highway Climb near Ridgecrest

Tops out on the road. Near Ridgecrest.
long (5.6 km)
3.5 mi
long (5.6 km)
of climbing (233 m)
764 ft
of climbing (233 m)
average grade
4.1%
average grade
steepest 500 m
6.5%
steepest 500 m
Open on the mapGoogle Maps to the bottom

Elevation profile

2,7463,5101 mi2 mi3 mi0
Grade per 500 m:under 3%3–5%5–7%7–9%9–12%12% and up

From 2,746 ft at the bottom to 3,510 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 Blue Star Memorial Highway near Ridgecrest climb
S: bottom, E: top. Map © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap.

Weather at the top of Blue Star Memorial Highway this week

Weather

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Is it safe to bike up Blue Star Memorial 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 Blue Star Memorial Highway

How long and steep is the Blue Star Memorial Highway near Ridgecrest climb?
3.5 miles (5.6 km) at 4.1% on average, climbing 764 ft (233 m) from 2,746 ft to 3,510 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 6.5%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
Where does the climb start and finish?
It starts at 35.41808, -117.66924, and tops out on the road at 35.4631, -117.65516.
Is Blue Star Memorial 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

All climbs in California

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.