Cabrillo Highway Climb near Carmel-by-the-Sea
- long (5.2 km)
- 3.2 mi
- long (5.2 km)
- of climbing (238 m)
- 781 ft
- of climbing (238 m)
- average grade
- 4.6%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 7.6%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 184 ft at the bottom to 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 Cabrillo Highway this week
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Is it safe to bike up Cabrillo 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 Cabrillo Highway
- How long and steep is the Cabrillo Highway near Carmel-by-the-Sea climb?
- 3.2 miles (5.2 km) at 4.6% on average, climbing 781 ft (238 m) from 184 ft to 965 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 7.6%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 36.26347, -121.7946, and tops out on the road at 36.22761, -121.76423.
- Is Cabrillo 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
- Clear Ridge Road from Cabrillo HighwayCat 3 · 1.7 mi at 11.5% · 1,024 ft · starts 1.0 mi away
- Middle Road from Bear Killed Two Calves Creek RoadCat 3 · 1.5 mi at 11.4% · 892 ft · starts 1.4 mi away
- Front Hill RoadCat 3 · 2.3 mi at 8.4% · 1,010 ft · starts 1.7 mi away
- Clear Ridge Road near Carmel-by-the-SeaCat 2 · 2.6 mi at 7.8% · 1,070 ft · starts 1.9 mi away
- North Coast Ridge RoadHC · dirt · 14 mi at 4.1% · 2,936 ft · starts 3.2 mi away
- Palo Colorado RoadCat 2 · 3.9 mi at 5.9% · 1,204 ft · starts 11 mi away
- Weston Ridge RoadCat 3 · 1.1 mi at 11.6% · 702 ft · starts 12 mi away
- Longridge TrailCat 3 · 1.5 mi at 9.9% · 791 ft · starts 12 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.