Mount Saint Helena Trail Climb
- long (8.7 km)
- 5.4 mi
- long (8.7 km)
- of climbing (649 m)
- 2,129 ft
- of climbing (649 m)
- average grade
- 7.4%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 12%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 2,188 ft at the bottom to 4,318 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 Saint Helena Trail this week
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Is it safe to bike up Mount Saint Helena Trail?
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. Most of this climb is a dirt road, and falls away from public roads rarely reach police reports. What the records show: no bike crashes were reported along the climb from 2021–2025.
Common questions about Mount Saint Helena Trail
- How long and steep is the Mount Saint Helena Trail climb?
- 5.4 miles (8.7 km) at 7.4% on average, climbing 2,129 ft (649 m) from 2,188 ft to 4,318 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 12%. That makes it a Category 1 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 38.65542, -122.59681, where Mount Saint Helena Trail leaves Lake County Highway, and tops out at Mount Saint Helena at 38.66927, -122.63351.
- Is Mount Saint Helena Trail paved?
- Mostly not: OpenStreetMap tags 100% of the climb as dirt or gravel. Dirt roads can be closed in fire season or after rain, so check with the land manager.
- 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
- Old Lawley Toll RoadCat 2 · 3.1 mi at 6.5% · 1,073 ft · starts 3.3 mi away
- Yellow Jacket Ranch Road near CalistogaCat 3 · 1.3 mi at 7.9% · 531 ft · starts 3.4 mi away
- Yellow Jacket Ranch Road near CalistogaCat 3 · 2.1 mi at 6.7% · 741 ft · starts 4.3 mi away
- Schmitt RoadCat 3 · 1.9 mi at 7.1% · 725 ft · starts 4.3 mi away
- Ida Clayton RoadCat 1 · 7.9 mi at 5.2% · 2,185 ft · starts 4.5 mi away
- Lake County HighwayCat 2 · 7.5 mi at 4.8% · 1,896 ft · starts 4.7 mi away
- Petrified Forest RoadCat 3 · 2.0 mi at 7.2% · 764 ft · starts 5.2 mi away
- Kortum Canyon RoadCat 3 · 2.2 mi at 7.2% · 827 ft · starts 5.6 mi away
Found from OpenStreetMap roads and USGS 3DEP elevation; ranked on shape only. Category 1: 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.