Saddleback Lookout Road Climb
- long (1.2 km)
- 0.7 mi
- long (1.2 km)
- of climbing (163 m)
- 535 ft
- of climbing (163 m)
- average grade
- 13.8%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 14.6%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 6,099 ft at the bottom to 6,634 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 Saddleback Lookout Road this week
Loading forecast…
Is it safe to bike up Saddleback Lookout 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 Saddleback Lookout Road
- How long and steep is the Saddleback Lookout Road climb?
- 0.7 miles (1.2 km) at 13.8% on average, climbing 535 ft (163 m) from 6,099 ft to 6,634 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 14.6%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 39.6336, -120.86771, where Saddleback Lookout Road leaves Poker Flat-Downieville Road, and tops out at Saddleback Mountain at 39.63645, -120.86408.
- Is Saddleback Lookout 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
- Port Wine Ridge RoadCat 3 · 2.5 mi at 4.1% · 535 ft · starts 4.6 mi away
- Red Oak OHV TrailCat 1 · dirt · 5.4 mi at 8.6% · 2,457 ft · starts 5.0 mi away
- Port Wine RoadCat 3 · 1.9 mi at 8.1% · 817 ft · starts 5.5 mi away
- Saint Louis RoadCat 3 · 2.5 mi at 5.7% · 758 ft · starts 5.5 mi away
- Main Street from Commercial StreetHC · 24 mi at 3% · 3,825 ft · starts 5.5 mi away
- Saddleback RoadHC · dirt · 7.6 mi at 7.4% · 2,979 ft · starts 5.5 mi away
- Galloway RoadHC · dirt · 3.8 mi at 14.3% · 2,848 ft · starts 5.5 mi away
- Goodyear Creek RoadCat 3 · 2.7 mi at 6.1% · 886 ft · starts 5.9 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.