French Gulch Road Climb from Murphys Grade Road
- long (5.4 km)
- 3.4 mi
- long (5.4 km)
- of climbing (257 m)
- 843 ft
- of climbing (257 m)
- average grade
- 4.7%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 9.7%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 1,647 ft at the bottom to 2,490 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 Gulch Road this week
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Is it safe to bike up French Gulch 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 Gulch Road
- How long and steep is the French Gulch Road from Murphys Grade Road climb?
- 3.4 miles (5.4 km) at 4.7% on average, climbing 843 ft (257 m) from 1,647 ft to 2,490 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 9.7%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 38.10529, -120.51888, where French Gulch Road leaves Murphys Grade Road, and tops out at St. Johns at 38.1396, -120.48828.
- Is French Gulch 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
- Highway 4 from Six Mile RoadHC · 21 mi at 3% · 3,337 ft · starts 1.3 mi away
- Esmeralda RoadCat 3 · 4.0 mi at 4.7% · 1,004 ft · starts 3.6 mi away
- Sheep Ranch Road from San Domingo RoadCat 3 · 2.8 mi at 6.1% · 909 ft · starts 4.3 mi away
- Pennsylvania Gulch RoadCat 3 · 4.3 mi at 4.3% · 984 ft · starts 4.4 mi away
- Sheep Ranch Road near AngelsCat 3 · 1.6 mi at 6.9% · 581 ft · starts 4.4 mi away
- Crestview RoadCat 3 · 1.3 mi at 9.9% · 659 ft · starts 4.6 mi away
- Red Hill RoadCat 3 · 3.5 mi at 3.3% · 623 ft · starts 4.8 mi away
- Fricot City RoadCat 3 · 5.1 mi at 3.6% · 965 ft · starts 4.8 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.