Mount Disappointment Road Climb
- long (4.5 km)
- 2.8 mi
- long (4.5 km)
- of climbing (311 m)
- 1,020 ft
- of climbing (311 m)
- average grade
- 7%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 12%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 4,751 ft at the bottom to 5,771 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 Mount Disappointment Road this week
Loading forecast…
Is it safe to bike up Mount Disappointment 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. What the records show: no bike crashes were reported along the climb from 2021–2025.
Common questions about Mount Disappointment Road
- How long and steep is the Mount Disappointment Road climb?
- 2.8 miles (4.5 km) at 7% on average, climbing 1,020 ft (311 m) from 4,751 ft to 5,771 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 12%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 34.25443, -118.10161, where Mount Disappointment Road leaves Mount Wilson Red Box Road, and tops out at Mount Disappointment at 34.24699, -118.10361.
- Is Mount Disappointment 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.
Other climbs nearby
- Mount Wilson Red Box RoadCat 3 · 4.3 mi at 4.6% · 1,030 ft · starts 0.3 mi away
- Angeles Crest Highway near Sierra MadreCat 2 · 6.5 mi at 3.2% · 1,106 ft · starts 2.6 mi away
- Mount Lowe MotorwayHC · 5.7 mi at 8.8% · 2,667 ft · starts 3.7 mi away
- Upper Big Tujunga Canyon RoadCat 2 · 5.9 mi at 4.1% · 1,276 ft · starts 3.9 mi away
- Mount Wilson Toll RoadHC · dirt · 8.7 mi at 9.5% · 4,383 ft · starts 4.2 mi away
- Angeles Forest Highway from Big Tujunga Narrows Bridge near La Cañada FlintridgeCat 2 · 8.2 mi at 4.7% · 2,044 ft · starts 4.4 mi away
- Angeles Forest Highway from Big Tujunga Narrows Bridge near La Cañada FlintridgeCat 3 · 3.5 mi at 3% · 564 ft · starts 4.4 mi away
- Chaney TrailCat 3 · 1.1 mi at 10.5% · 623 ft · starts 4.5 mi away
Places to ride to nearby
Bike crash hotspots 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.