Mount Hamilton Road Climb near San Jose
- long (5.0 km)
- 3.1 mi
- long (5.0 km)
- of climbing (231 m)
- 758 ft
- of climbing (231 m)
- average grade
- 4.6%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 5.7%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 1,581 ft at the bottom to 2,339 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 Hamilton Road this week
Loading forecast…
Is it safe to bike up Mount Hamilton 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: 2 bike crashes were reported on or beside Mount Hamilton Road along the climb from 2021–2025.
Common questions about Mount Hamilton Road
- How long and steep is the Mount Hamilton Road near San Jose climb?
- 3.1 miles (5.0 km) at 4.6% on average, climbing 758 ft (231 m) from 1,581 ft to 2,339 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 5.7%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 37.34202, -121.71757, and tops out on the road at 37.32959, -121.68418.
- Is Mount Hamilton 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
- Quimby Road from Mount Hamilton RoadCat 3 · 1.1 mi at 8.9% · 535 ft · starts 0.2 mi away
- Higuera Highland LaneCat 3 · 1.2 mi at 13.4% · 860 ft · starts 2.8 mi away
- Mount Hamilton Road from Manzanita TrailCat 2 · 7.1 mi at 5.5% · 2,051 ft · starts 2.9 mi away
- Kincaid Road near San JoseCat 3 · 2.1 mi at 6.8% · 774 ft · starts 3.2 mi away
- Kincaid Road near San JoseCat 3 · 2.1 mi at 6.4% · 722 ft · starts 3.2 mi away
- Higuera RoadCat 3 · 1.7 mi at 6.7% · 614 ft · starts 3.2 mi away
- Aborn RoadCat 3 · 2.2 mi at 7.2% · 827 ft · starts 4.0 mi away
- Quimby Road from Davidwood WayCat 2 · 4.6 mi at 8.3% · 2,021 ft · starts 4.1 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.