Peterson Mill Road Climb
- long (12.9 km)
- 8.0 mi
- long (12.9 km)
- of climbing (491 m)
- 1,611 ft
- of climbing (491 m)
- average grade
- 3.8%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 9%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 2,277 ft at the bottom to 3,888 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 Peterson Mill Road this week
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Is it safe to bike up Peterson Mill 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 Peterson Mill Road
- How long and steep is the Peterson Mill Road climb?
- 8.0 miles (12.9 km) at 3.8% on average, climbing 1,611 ft (491 m) from 2,277 ft to 3,888 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 9%. That makes it a Category 2 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 36.96943, -119.21668, where Peterson Mill Road leaves Big Creek Road, and tops out at Soaproot Saddle at 37.02793, -119.25457.
- Is Peterson Mill 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
- Dinkey-Trimmer RoadHC · dirt · 26 mi at 3.7% · 5,043 ft · starts 4.4 mi away
- Peterson Road from Peterson Mill RoadCat 3 · 3.3 mi at 3.9% · 686 ft · starts 4.6 mi away
- Providence Creek Road from Peterson Mill RoadCat 1 · 5.6 mi at 7.2% · 2,113 ft · starts 4.7 mi away
- Trimmer Springs Road near Orange CoveCat 3 · 4.3 mi at 4.4% · 1,010 ft · starts 4.8 mi away
- Ross Crossing RoadCat 2 · 9.4 mi at 3.5% · 1,722 ft · starts 5.3 mi away
- Ross Crossing RoadHC · dirt · 13 mi at 4.6% · 3,159 ft · starts 5.3 mi away
- Providence Creek RoadCat 3 · 3.2 mi at 6% · 1,020 ft · starts 5.6 mi away
- Maxon RoadCat 3 · 1.5 mi at 7.5% · 584 ft · starts 6.2 mi away
Found from OpenStreetMap roads and USGS 3DEP elevation; ranked on shape only. Category 2: 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.