Grizzly Road Climb near Sonora
- long (3.1 km)
- 1.9 mi
- long (3.1 km)
- of climbing (172 m)
- 564 ft
- of climbing (172 m)
- average grade
- 5.6%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 6.2%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 840 ft at the bottom to 1,404 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 Grizzly Road this week
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Is it safe to bike up Grizzly 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 Grizzly Road
- How long and steep is the Grizzly Road near Sonora climb?
- 1.9 miles (3.1 km) at 5.6% on average, climbing 564 ft (172 m) from 840 ft to 1,404 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 6.2%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 37.83256, -120.32948, and tops out at New Priest Grade Road at 37.8201, -120.30688.
- Is Grizzly 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
- East River Road near SonoraCat 3 · 0.9 mi at 13.2% · 633 ft · starts 1.0 mi away
- Golden Chain Highway from New Priest Grade RoadCat 2 · 6.3 mi at 3.6% · 1,191 ft · starts 1.6 mi away
- New Priest Grade RoadCat 1 · 7.2 mi at 5.7% · 2,178 ft · starts 1.7 mi away
- East River Road from New Priest Grade RoadCat 3 · 1.1 mi at 9.9% · 558 ft · starts 1.7 mi away
- Old Priest GradeCat 2 · 1.9 mi at 14% · 1,368 ft · starts 2.1 mi away
- Marshes Flat Road from Golden Chain HighwayCat 3 · 1.9 mi at 9.5% · 935 ft · starts 2.2 mi away
- Cocoran Gray RoadCat 3 · 2.2 mi at 5.8% · 666 ft · starts 3.2 mi away
- Wards Ferry Road near SonoraCat 1 · 6.9 mi at 6% · 2,201 ft · starts 3.6 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.