Fern Valley Road Climb
- long (2.9 km)
- 1.8 mi
- long (2.9 km)
- of climbing (256 m)
- 840 ft
- of climbing (256 m)
- average grade
- 8.9%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 10.8%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 5,610 ft at the bottom to 6,450 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 Fern Valley Road this week
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Is it safe to bike up Fern Valley 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 Fern Valley Road
- How long and steep is the Fern Valley Road climb?
- 1.8 miles (2.9 km) at 8.9% on average, climbing 840 ft (256 m) from 5,610 ft to 6,450 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 10.8%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 33.75231, -116.70535, where Fern Valley Road leaves South Circle Drive, and tops out at Humber Park Trailhead at 33.76531, -116.68678.
- Is Fern Valley 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
- Pinecrest AvenueCat 3 · 1.5 mi at 8.3% · 659 ft · starts 0.7 mi away
- Banning-Idyllwild Panoramic Highway near Palm SpringsCat 2 · 7.3 mi at 4.5% · 1,745 ft · starts 3.4 mi away
- Banning-Idyllwild Panoramic Highway near Palm SpringsCat 2 · 4.4 mi at 4.5% · 1,056 ft · starts 4.1 mi away
- Black Mountain Road from Banning-Idyllwild Panoramic HighwayCat 1 · dirt · 6.6 mi at 6.6% · 2,297 ft · starts 4.3 mi away
- Apple Canyon RoadCat 2 · 3.6 mi at 5.8% · 1,086 ft · starts 5.6 mi away
- Pines To Palms Highway near Palm SpringsCat 3 · 1.9 mi at 5.8% · 584 ft · starts 5.8 mi away
- Idyllwild Control RoadHC · dirt · 6.1 mi at 8.6% · 2,772 ft · starts 5.9 mi away
- Thomas Mountain RoadCat 1 · dirt · 7.3 mi at 5.9% · 2,267 ft · starts 6.9 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.