Heritage Way Climb
- long (6.5 km)
- 4.0 mi
- long (6.5 km)
- of climbing (665 m)
- 2,182 ft
- of climbing (665 m)
- average grade
- 10.2%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 17.4%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 3,973 ft at the bottom to 6,155 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 Heritage Way this week
Loading forecast…
Is it safe to bike up Heritage Way?
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. Most of this climb is a dirt road, and falls away from public roads rarely reach police reports. What the records show: no bike crashes were reported along the climb from 2021–2025.
Common questions about Heritage Way
- How long and steep is the Heritage Way climb?
- 4.0 miles (6.5 km) at 10.2% on average, climbing 2,182 ft (665 m) from 3,973 ft to 6,155 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 17.4%. That makes it a Category 1 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 35.43903, -118.47427, where Heritage Way leaves Golden-Spur, and tops out at Silver Fox Drive at 35.47906, -118.46162.
- Is Heritage Way paved?
- Mostly not: OpenStreetMap tags 100% of the climb as dirt or gravel. Dirt roads can be closed in fire season or after rain, so check with the land manager.
- 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
- Oiler CourtCat 3 · 0.9 mi at 13% · 617 ft · starts 3.1 mi away
- Foxtail Canyon RoadCat 3 · 2.2 mi at 7% · 807 ft · starts 3.6 mi away
- Quail Canyon Road from Stage Coach DriveCat 3 · 2.6 mi at 4.3% · 584 ft · starts 4.1 mi away
- Breckenridge Road from Caliente Bodfish RoadHC · 9.2 mi at 6.5% · 3,140 ft · starts 4.3 mi away
- Woodchopper RoadCat 1 · dirt · 3.6 mi at 11.4% · 2,185 ft · starts 5.3 mi away
- Piute Mountain Road from Walker Basin RoadHC · dirt · 8.0 mi at 9.1% · 3,855 ft · starts 5.3 mi away
- Saint Candor near TehachapiCat 3 · 1.6 mi at 7.8% · 663 ft · starts 5.3 mi away
- Saint Candor near TehachapiCat 3 · 0.9 mi at 12.1% · 577 ft · starts 5.5 mi away
Found from OpenStreetMap roads and USGS 3DEP elevation; ranked on shape only. Category 1: 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.