Montebello 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: 15 bike crashes were reported on or beside Montebello Road along the climb from 2021–2025, 7 of them serious or fatal. The most were at Montebello Rd & Peacock Ct (3). Of the 11 where the cyclist's direction along the climb can be read, 10 were coming down and 1 going up.

1. 3 crashes · 3 serious or fatal

   Montebello Rd & Peacock Ct

   Falls and fixed objects

   2 of 3 crashes were a fall or hitting an object, with no other vehicle involved. Traffic is posted at about 55 mph.

   See it on the map
2. 4 crashes

   Montebello Rd & Stevens Canyon Rd

   Falls and fixed objects

   2 of 4 crashes were a fall or hitting an object, with no other vehicle involved.

   See it on the map

How long and steep is the Montebello Road climb?

6.8 miles (10.9 km) at 6.3% on average, climbing 2,244 ft (684 m) from 568 ft to 2,812 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 10.4%. That makes it a Category 1 climb.

Where does the climb start and finish?

It starts at 37.29542, -122.08429, where Montebello Road leaves Stevens Canyon Road, and tops out at Black Mountain at 37.31756, -122.14746.

Is Montebello Road paved?

Mostly: OpenStreetMap tags 85% of the climb as paved, and the rest as dirt or gravel.

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.

• Regnart RoadCat 3 · 1.5 mi at 7% · 548 ft · starts 1.9 mi away
• Redwood Gulch RoadCat 3 · 1.3 mi at 10% · 686 ft · starts 2.0 mi away
• Big Basin Way from Saratoga AvenueCat 1 · 7.3 mi at 5.6% · 2,152 ft · starts 3.8 mi away
• Bohlman RoadCat 2 · 4.5 mi at 8.4% · 1,991 ft · starts 3.9 mi away
• Norton RoadCat 3 · 1.6 mi at 11.4% · 971 ft · starts 4.0 mi away
• Moody RoadCat 3 · 2.8 mi at 4.1% · 614 ft · starts 5.0 mi away
• Overlook RoadCat 3 · 2.1 mi at 6.8% · 732 ft · starts 6.9 mi away
• Big Basin Way near SaratogaCat 3 · 3.1 mi at 4.2% · 692 ft · starts 7.0 mi away