Safe Streets Map
Cat 2 climb · Paved

California National Historic Trail Climb from Townsend Street

From Townsend Street. Tops out at Cedar Pass. Near Alturas.
long (9.5 km)
5.9 mi
long (9.5 km)
of climbing (506 m)
1,660 ft
of climbing (506 m)
average grade
5.3%
average grade
steepest 500 m
7.1%
steepest 500 m
Open on the mapGoogle Maps to the bottom

Elevation profile

4,6596,3191 mi2 mi3 mi4 mi5 mi0
Grade per 500 m:under 3%3–5%5–7%7–9%9–12%12% and up

From 4,659 ft at the bottom to 6,319 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 California National Historic Trail from Townsend Street climb
S: bottom, E: top. Map © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap.

Weather at the top of California National Historic Trail this week

Weather

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Is it safe to bike up California National Historic Trail?

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: 1 bike crash was reported on or beside California National Historic Trail along the climb from 2021–2025, 1 of them serious or fatal (1 fatal).

Common questions about California National Historic Trail

How long and steep is the California National Historic Trail from Townsend Street climb?
5.9 miles (9.5 km) at 5.3% on average, climbing 1,660 ft (506 m) from 4,659 ft to 6,319 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 7.1%. That makes it a Category 2 climb.
Where does the climb start and finish?
It starts at 41.5296, -120.17457, where California National Historic Trail leaves Townsend Street, and tops out at Cedar Pass at 41.56169, -120.26888.
Is California National Historic Trail 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 2: 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.