Cat 1 climb · Dirt or gravel

High Prairie Road Climb

Tops out on the road. Near Blue Lake.
long (7.5 km)
4.6 mi
long (7.5 km)
of climbing (643 m)
2,110 ft
of climbing (643 m)
average grade
8.6%
average grade
steepest 500 m
15.2%
steepest 500 m

Elevation profile

1,2603,3691 mi2 mi3 mi4 mi0
Grade per 500 m:under 3%3–5%5–7%7–9%9–12%12% and up

From 1,260 ft at the bottom to 3,369 ft at the top. Grades are averaged over each half kilometre, from USGS elevation data, so short ramps can be steeper than they show.

Map of the High Prairie Road climb
S: bottom, E: top. Map © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap.

Weather at the top of High Prairie Road this week

Weather

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Is it safe to bike up High Prairie 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. 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 High Prairie Road

How long and steep is the High Prairie Road climb?
4.6 miles (7.5 km) at 8.6% on average, climbing 2,110 ft (643 m) from 1,260 ft to 3,369 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 15.2%. That makes it a Category 1 climb.
Where does the climb start and finish?
It starts at 40.83346, -123.76872, and tops out on the road at 40.82414, -123.80213.
Is High Prairie Road 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

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.