Chumash Highway Climb near Santa Barbara
- long (11.1 km)
- 6.9 mi
- long (11.1 km)
- of climbing (570 m)
- 1,870 ft
- of climbing (570 m)
- average grade
- 5.2%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 7.8%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 348 ft at the bottom to 2,218 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 Chumash Highway this week
Loading forecast…
Is it safe to bike up Chumash 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: 1 bike crash was reported on or beside Chumash Highway along the climb from 2021–2025, 1 of them serious or fatal.
Common questions about Chumash Highway
- How long and steep is the Chumash Highway near Santa Barbara climb?
- 6.9 miles (11.1 km) at 5.2% on average, climbing 1,870 ft (570 m) from 348 ft to 2,218 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 7.8%. That makes it a Category 2 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 34.45467, -119.76636, and tops out at San Marcos Pass at 34.51114, -119.82411.
- Is Chumash 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
- North San Marcos RoadCat 2 · 4.1 mi at 6% · 1,289 ft · starts 1.9 mi away
- Painted Cave RoadCat 2 · 3.1 mi at 8.3% · 1,371 ft · starts 3.0 mi away
- Tunnel Road from Mission Canyon RoadCat 3 · 2.3 mi at 7.9% · 945 ft · starts 3.2 mi away
- East Camino Cielo Road from Arroyo Burro RoadCat 3 · 2.7 mi at 6% · 860 ft · starts 3.6 mi away
- Gibraltar RoadHC · 6.5 mi at 7.7% · 2,664 ft · starts 4.2 mi away
- West Camino Cielo near GoletaCat 2 · 3.8 mi at 5.4% · 1,086 ft · starts 4.4 mi away
- East Camino Cielo Road from East Camino CieloCat 3 · 2.7 mi at 5.4% · 778 ft · starts 4.4 mi away
- East Camino Cielo Road from Gibraltar RoadCat 3 · 1.6 mi at 6.3% · 545 ft · starts 4.8 mi away
Bike crash hotspots nearby
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.