Eric Rood Memorial Expressway Climb
- long (7.8 km)
- 4.8 mi
- long (7.8 km)
- of climbing (318 m)
- 1,043 ft
- of climbing (318 m)
- average grade
- 4.1%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 6.4%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 1,417 ft at the bottom to 2,461 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 Eric Rood Memorial Expressway this week
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Is it safe to bike up Eric Rood Memorial Expressway?
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 Eric Rood Memorial Expressway
- How long and steep is the Eric Rood Memorial Expressway climb?
- 4.8 miles (7.8 km) at 4.1% on average, climbing 1,043 ft (318 m) from 1,417 ft to 2,461 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 6.4%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 39.20331, -121.1693, where Eric Rood Memorial Expressway leaves Rough and Ready Highway, and tops out on the road at 39.20868, -121.0827.
- Is Eric Rood Memorial Expressway 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
- Rough and Ready HighwayCat 2 · 5.2 mi at 4.2% · 1,175 ft · starts 0.4 mi away
- North Ponderosa WayCat 3 · 2.1 mi at 5% · 568 ft · starts 3.2 mi away
- Bitney Springs RoadCat 2 · 6.9 mi at 3.2% · 1,158 ft · starts 4.5 mi away
- McCourtney RoadCat 3 · 4.4 mi at 3.7% · 866 ft · starts 5.6 mi away
- Mooney Flat RoadCat 3 · 1.7 mi at 5.8% · 525 ft · starts 5.6 mi away
- Colfax HighwayCat 3 · 2.9 mi at 3.5% · 531 ft · starts 5.9 mi away
- Deer Park DriveCat 3 · 1.2 mi at 8.8% · 558 ft · starts 6.1 mi away
- Pleasant Valley Road from Sanctuary RoadCat 2 · 6.4 mi at 3.9% · 1,319 ft · starts 6.2 mi away
Found from OpenStreetMap roads and USGS 3DEP elevation; ranked on shape only. Category 3: 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.