French Camp Road Climb from Nixon Road
- long (1.9 km)
- 1.1 mi
- long (1.9 km)
- of climbing (165 m)
- 541 ft
- of climbing (165 m)
- average grade
- 8.9%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 9.9%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 1,079 ft at the bottom to 1,621 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 French Camp Road this week
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Is it safe to bike up French Camp 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 French Camp Road
- How long and steep is the French Camp Road from Nixon Road climb?
- 1.1 miles (1.9 km) at 8.9% on average, climbing 541 ft (165 m) from 1,079 ft to 1,621 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 9.9%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 41.10893, -123.71021, where French Camp Road leaves Nixon Road, and tops out on the road at 41.11748, -123.72107.
- Is French Camp 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
- Bloody Camp Road from French Camp RoadCat 2 · 4.8 mi at 5.9% · 1,486 ft · starts 0.6 mi away
- Mill Creek Road near Blue LakeHC · 7.0 mi at 8.8% · 3,255 ft · starts 1.3 mi away
- Pine Creek Road near Blue LakeCat 3 · 2.2 mi at 6.3% · 738 ft · starts 1.4 mi away
- Big Hill Road from Bigfoot Scenic BywayHC · 8.8 mi at 8.1% · 3,786 ft · starts 2.0 mi away
- Pine Ridge RoadCat 1 · dirt · 7.2 mi at 6.2% · 2,359 ft · starts 2.5 mi away
- Redwood Grove RoadCat 2 · 2.1 mi at 10.4% · 1,184 ft · starts 2.7 mi away
- French Camp Road near TrinidadCat 3 · 1.6 mi at 6.6% · 541 ft · starts 3.2 mi away
- Norton Creek RoadCat 3 · 2.3 mi at 6.1% · 755 ft · starts 3.5 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.