King City Road Climb

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.

How long and steep is the King City Road climb?

8.7 miles (14.1 km) at 3% on average, climbing 1,407 ft (429 m) from 436 ft to 1,844 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 7.9%. That makes it a Category 2 climb.

Where does the climb start and finish?

It starts at 36.26483, -121.07983, and tops out at Bitterwater Road at 36.37208, -121.01689.

Is King City 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.

• Rio RoadCat 3 · 4.1 mi at 3.1% · 676 ft · starts 5.3 mi away
• Pine Canyon Road from SiraksCat 1 · 10 mi at 4.1% · 2,159 ft · starts 5.9 mi away
• Via CanadaCat 2 · 4.0 mi at 5.8% · 1,234 ft · starts 6.7 mi away
• Jolon RoadCat 3 · 1.8 mi at 6.7% · 630 ft · starts 13 mi away
• Shirtail Canyon RoadCat 2 · 7.3 mi at 4.5% · 1,729 ft · starts 15 mi away