Bristlecone Drive Climb
- long (2.1 km)
- 1.3 mi
- long (2.1 km)
- of climbing (178 m)
- 584 ft
- of climbing (178 m)
- average grade
- 8.5%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 9.8%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 2,677 ft at the bottom to 3,261 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 Bristlecone Drive this week
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Is it safe to bike up Bristlecone Drive?
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 Bristlecone Drive
- How long and steep is the Bristlecone Drive climb?
- 1.3 miles (2.1 km) at 8.5% on average, climbing 584 ft (178 m) from 2,677 ft to 3,261 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 9.8%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 35.70834, -118.44838, where Bristlecone Drive leaves Wofford Boulevard, and tops out on the road at 35.7177, -118.45683.
- Is Bristlecone Drive 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
- Old State RoadHC · 11 mi at 5.4% · 3,173 ft · starts 0.8 mi away
- Evans Road from Wofford Heights BoulevardHC · 8.1 mi at 8.1% · 3,451 ft · starts 0.9 mi away
- Deadrich AvenueCat 3 · 0.9 mi at 11% · 548 ft · starts 1.5 mi away
- Sawmill Road from Wofford Heights BoulevardHC · dirt · 10 mi at 6.3% · 3,323 ft · starts 2.3 mi away
- Sierra WayCat 3 · 0.2 mi at 85.3% · 784 ft · starts 4.6 mi away
- Sierra Way from Patterson LaneCat 3 · 0.1 mi at 215% · 774 ft · starts 4.8 mi away
- Keyesville RoadCat 3 · 3.4 mi at 4.5% · 817 ft · starts 5.0 mi away
- McCray RoadCat 3 · 2.1 mi at 4.8% · 528 ft · starts 5.3 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.