California National Historic Trail Climb near Alturas
- long (18.9 km)
- 12 mi
- long (18.9 km)
- of climbing (579 m)
- 1,900 ft
- of climbing (579 m)
- average grade
- 3.1%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 6.8%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 4,419 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.
Weather at the top of California National Historic Trail this week
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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: no bike crashes were reported along the climb from 2021–2025.
Common questions about California National Historic Trail
- How long and steep is the California National Historic Trail near Alturas climb?
- 12 miles (18.9 km) at 3.1% on average, climbing 1,900 ft (579 m) from 4,419 ft to 6,319 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 6.8%. That makes it a Category 2 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 41.52738, -120.47153, 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
- Pheasant DriveCat 3 · 1.8 mi at 5.7% · 551 ft · starts 4.3 mi away
- Crowder Flat RoadCat 3 · 3.9 mi at 3% · 617 ft · starts 7.4 mi away
- California National Historic Trail from Townsend StreetCat 2 · 5.9 mi at 5.3% · 1,660 ft · starts 15 mi away
- Lake City Canyon RoadCat 1 · dirt · 5.8 mi at 8.2% · 2,520 ft · starts 15 mi away
- Deep Creek-Parker RoadHC · dirt · 7.6 mi at 6.7% · 2,707 ft · starts 15 mi away
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.