Highland Lakes Road Climb from Whalen Road
- long (11.0 km)
- 6.8 mi
- long (11.0 km)
- of climbing (650 m)
- 2,133 ft
- of climbing (650 m)
- average grade
- 5.9%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 9.8%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 3,737 ft at the bottom to 5,869 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 Highland Lakes Road this week
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Is it safe to bike up Highland Lakes 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 Highland Lakes Road
- How long and steep is the Highland Lakes Road from Whalen Road climb?
- 6.8 miles (11.0 km) at 5.9% on average, climbing 2,133 ft (650 m) from 3,737 ft to 5,869 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 9.8%. That makes it a Category 1 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 41.1274, -122.5351, where Highland Lakes Road leaves Whalen Road, and tops out at Highland Mine Road at 41.08569, -122.51695.
- Is Highland Lakes 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
- South Fork Road near DunsmuirCat 3 · 2.9 mi at 5.3% · 797 ft · starts 4.0 mi away
- Ramshorn Mumbo RoadHC · dirt · 8.8 mi at 6.3% · 2,953 ft · starts 6.5 mi away
- Ramshorn RoadCat 1 · dirt · 5.7 mi at 7.7% · 2,343 ft · starts 7.1 mi away
- Picayune RoadCat 1 · dirt · 9.3 mi at 4.8% · 2,392 ft · starts 7.2 mi away
- Eagle Creek RoadCat 1 · dirt · 7.2 mi at 6.1% · 2,326 ft · starts 7.3 mi away
- Halls Gulch RoadCat 1 · dirt · 4.3 mi at 9.5% · 2,159 ft · starts 8.0 mi away
- Cedar Creek Road from East Side RoadHC · dirt · 7.6 mi at 9.3% · 3,747 ft · starts 8.6 mi away
- Scorpion Creek RoadHC · dirt · 8.8 mi at 9% · 4,199 ft · starts 8.6 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.