Butano Fire Road Climb
- long (14.9 km)
- 9.3 mi
- long (14.9 km)
- of climbing (658 m)
- 2,159 ft
- of climbing (658 m)
- average grade
- 4.4%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 10.6%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 171 ft at the bottom to 2,329 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 Butano Fire Road this week
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Is it safe to bike up Butano Fire 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 Butano Fire Road
- How long and steep is the Butano Fire Road climb?
- 9.3 miles (14.9 km) at 4.4% on average, climbing 2,159 ft (658 m) from 171 ft to 2,329 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 10.6%. That makes it a Category 1 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 37.21231, -122.3494, where Butano Fire Road leaves Cloverdale Road, and tops out on the road at 37.21496, -122.23652.
- Is Butano Fire Road paved?
- Mostly not: OpenStreetMap tags 99% 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
- Gazos Creek RoadCat 2 · 4.2 mi at 5.4% · 1,201 ft · starts 2.0 mi away
- Pescadero Creek Road near Portola ValleyCat 3 · 3.7 mi at 4.6% · 892 ft · starts 4.9 mi away
- Big Basin Way from North Escape RoadCat 3 · 5.3 mi at 3.5% · 965 ft · starts 7.6 mi away
- Pescadero Creek Road from Pescadero RoadCat 3 · 1.7 mi at 6.9% · 607 ft · starts 7.6 mi away
- Alpine Road from Pescadero Creek RoadCat 2 · 6.6 mi at 5.6% · 1,962 ft · starts 7.6 mi away
- Portola State Park RoadCat 2 · 3.5 mi at 6.7% · 1,217 ft · starts 7.8 mi away
- Lodge RoadCat 3 · 3.8 mi at 3.1% · 610 ft · starts 7.9 mi away
- Cuesta RealCat 3 · 1.5 mi at 7.9% · 610 ft · starts 8.5 mi away
Places to ride to nearby
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.