Death Valley Scenic Byway Climb from Lake Hill Road
- long (14.6 km)
- 9.0 mi
- long (14.6 km)
- of climbing (1,033 m)
- 3,389 ft
- of climbing (1,033 m)
- average grade
- 7.1%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 11.3%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 1,555 ft at the bottom to 4,944 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 Death Valley Scenic Byway this week
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Is it safe to bike up Death Valley Scenic Byway?
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 Death Valley Scenic Byway
- How long and steep is the Death Valley Scenic Byway from Lake Hill Road climb?
- 9.0 miles (14.6 km) at 7.1% on average, climbing 3,389 ft (1,033 m) from 1,555 ft to 4,944 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 11.3%. That makes it a Hors catégorie climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 36.34186, -117.38968, where Death Valley Scenic Byway leaves Lake Hill Road, and tops out on the road at 36.39561, -117.28091.
- Is Death Valley Scenic Byway 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
- Death Valley Scenic BywayHC · 19 mi at 3.5% · 3,632 ft · starts 2.3 mi away
- Emigrant Canyon RoadCat 2 · 5.9 mi at 4.7% · 1,467 ft · starts 12 mi away
- Charcoal Kilns RoadHC · dirt · 11 mi at 9.8% · 5,958 ft · starts 12 mi away
- Olancha Darwin RoadCat 3 · 3.6 mi at 3.3% · 630 ft · starts 12 mi away
- Trona–Wildrose Road from Indian Ranch RoadCat 3 · 3.1 mi at 3.6% · 584 ft · starts 13 mi away
- Emigrant Canyon Road from Death Valley Scenic BywayHC · 15 mi at 4.2% · 3,301 ft · starts 14 mi away
- Tucki Mountain RoadHC · dirt · 8.1 mi at 6.2% · 2,651 ft · starts 14 mi away
Found from OpenStreetMap roads and USGS 3DEP elevation; ranked on shape only. Hors catégorie: 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.