Emigrant Canyon Road Climb from Death Valley Scenic Byway
- long (24.1 km)
- 15 mi
- long (24.1 km)
- of climbing (1,006 m)
- 3,301 ft
- of climbing (1,006 m)
- average grade
- 4.2%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 7.9%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 2,198 ft at the bottom to 5,499 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 Emigrant Canyon Road this week
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Is it safe to bike up Emigrant Canyon Road?
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 Emigrant Canyon Road
- How long and steep is the Emigrant Canyon Road from Death Valley Scenic Byway climb?
- 15 miles (24.1 km) at 4.2% on average, climbing 3,301 ft (1,006 m) from 2,198 ft to 5,499 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 7.9%. That makes it a Hors catégorie climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 36.49493, -117.22682, where Emigrant Canyon Road leaves Death Valley Scenic Byway, and tops out on the road at 36.31923, -117.15355.
- Is Emigrant Canyon Road 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
- Tucki Mountain RoadHC · dirt · 8.1 mi at 6.2% · 2,651 ft · starts 0.8 mi away
- Cottonwood Canyon RoadHC · dirt · 14 mi at 3.7% · 2,638 ft · starts 8.0 mi away
- Death Valley Scenic Byway from Stovepipe Wells Housing RoadHC · 17 mi at 5.6% · 4,961 ft · starts 9.0 mi away
- Death Valley Scenic Byway from Lake Hill RoadHC · 9.0 mi at 7.1% · 3,389 ft · starts 14 mi away
- Mud Canyon RoadCat 1 · 6.7 mi at 5.9% · 2,100 ft · starts 15 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.