Fernwood Pacific Drive Climb
- long (4.6 km)
- 2.9 mi
- long (4.6 km)
- of climbing (332 m)
- 1,089 ft
- of climbing (332 m)
- average grade
- 7.2%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 9%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 755 ft at the bottom to 1,844 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 Fernwood Pacific Drive this week
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Is it safe to bike up Fernwood Pacific Drive?
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: 2 bike crashes were reported on or beside Fernwood Pacific Drive along the climb from 2021–2025, 2 of them serious or fatal.
Common questions about Fernwood Pacific Drive
- How long and steep is the Fernwood Pacific Drive climb?
- 2.9 miles (4.6 km) at 7.2% on average, climbing 1,089 ft (332 m) from 755 ft to 1,844 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 9%. That makes it a Category 2 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 34.084, -118.59958, where Fernwood Pacific Drive leaves South Topanga Canyon Boulevard, and tops out at Tuna Canyon Road at 34.06845, -118.61225.
- Is Fernwood Pacific Drive 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
- Grand View DriveCat 3 · 1.1 mi at 9.7% · 554 ft · starts 0.1 mi away
- Old Topanga Canyon RoadCat 3 · 3.9 mi at 3.7% · 748 ft · starts 0.7 mi away
- Greenleaf Canyon RoadCat 3 · 1.8 mi at 7.6% · 725 ft · starts 0.8 mi away
- Saddle Peak RoadCat 3 · 2.3 mi at 5% · 614 ft · starts 1.3 mi away
- Palisades Drive near Santa MonicaCat 3 · 1.3 mi at 11.6% · 768 ft · starts 2.2 mi away
- Topanga Canyon Boulevard from Pacific Coast HighwayCat 2 · 9.2 mi at 3% · 1,457 ft · starts 3.2 mi away
- Schueren RoadCat 3 · 1.8 mi at 5.6% · 528 ft · starts 3.2 mi away
- Big Rock DriveCat 3 · 1.6 mi at 9.8% · 853 ft · starts 3.2 mi away
Places to ride to nearby
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.