Pines To Palms Highway Climb near Palm Desert
- long (37.2 km)
- 23 mi
- long (37.2 km)
- of climbing (1,461 m)
- 4,793 ft
- of climbing (1,461 m)
- average grade
- 3.9%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 7.4%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 203 ft at the bottom to 4,997 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 Pines To Palms Highway this week
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Is it safe to bike up Pines To Palms Highway?
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: 7 bike crashes were reported on or beside Pines To Palms Highway along the climb from 2021–2025, 1 of them serious or fatal. The most were at Hwy 74 & El Paseo (3).
Where bike crashes cluster on Pines To Palms Highway
- 3 crashes
Hwy 74 & El Paseo
Close passes and cars turning alongside
2 of 3 crashes were sideswipes: a vehicle alongside, typically a close pass, a right hook, or an opening car door. 67% were hit-and-run.
See it on the map
Common questions about Pines To Palms Highway
- How long and steep is the Pines To Palms Highway near Palm Desert climb?
- 23 miles (37.2 km) at 3.9% on average, climbing 4,793 ft (1,461 m) from 203 ft to 4,997 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 7.4%. That makes it a Hors catégorie climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 33.72513, -116.39112, and tops out at Santa Rosa Summit at 33.56133, -116.57029.
- Is Pines To Palms Highway 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
- Dunn RoadHC · dirt · 9.9 mi at 6.5% · 3,402 ft · starts 5.8 mi away
- Thousand Palms Canyon RoadCat 2 · 6.5 mi at 3.6% · 1,224 ft · starts 7.3 mi away
- Carrizo RoadCat 3 · 2.7 mi at 5.2% · 735 ft · starts 8.2 mi away
- Sawmill Road from Pidgeon Springs RoadCat 1 · dirt · 5.3 mi at 8% · 2,231 ft · starts 11 mi away
- Berdoo Canyon RoadHC · dirt · 11 mi at 6.3% · 3,599 ft · starts 13 mi away
- Santa Rosa Road from Pines To Palms HighwayHC · dirt · 12 mi at 5.6% · 3,704 ft · starts 13 mi away
- Tramway Road from North Palm Canyon DriveCat 2 · 3.2 mi at 8.7% · 1,496 ft · starts 13 mi away
- Morris Ranch RoadCat 3 · 3.6 mi at 5.1% · 971 ft · starts 15 mi away
Bike crash hotspots nearby
Found from OpenStreetMap roads and USGS 3DEP elevation; ranked on shape only. Hors catégorie: 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.