Mammoth Scenic Loop Climb
- long (6.6 km)
- 4.1 mi
- long (6.6 km)
- of climbing (249 m)
- 817 ft
- of climbing (249 m)
- average grade
- 3.8%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 8.1%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 7,575 ft at the bottom to 8,392 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 Mammoth Scenic Loop this week
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Is it safe to bike up Mammoth Scenic Loop?
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: 1 bike crash was reported on or beside Mammoth Scenic Loop along the climb from 2021–2025, 1 of them serious or fatal.
Common questions about Mammoth Scenic Loop
- How long and steep is the Mammoth Scenic Loop climb?
- 4.1 miles (6.6 km) at 3.8% on average, climbing 817 ft (249 m) from 7,575 ft to 8,392 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 8.1%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 37.70872, -118.95497, where Mammoth Scenic Loop leaves Dry Creek Road, and tops out on the road at 37.67542, -118.99257.
- Is Mammoth Scenic Loop 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
- Route 395 near Mammoth LakesCat 3 · 2.8 mi at 4% · 584 ft · starts 2.6 mi away
- Lake Mary RoadCat 3 · 3.5 mi at 5.2% · 961 ft · starts 4.4 mi away
- Lakes Basin PathCat 3 · 2.7 mi at 4.4% · 620 ft · starts 4.5 mi away
- Main Street near Mammoth LakesCat 3 · 3.1 mi at 3.4% · 554 ft · starts 5.0 mi away
- Old Mammoth RoadCat 3 · 3.2 mi at 5.3% · 899 ft · starts 5.1 mi away
- Minaret RoadCat 2 · 6.8 mi at 3.6% · 1,280 ft · starts 5.3 mi away
- Laurel Mountain TrailHC · dirt · 4.6 mi at 11.4% · 2,756 ft · starts 6.4 mi away
- Postpile RoadCat 3 · 2.3 mi at 6.8% · 837 ft · starts 7.0 mi away
Places to ride to nearby
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.