San Juan Grade Road Climb

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.

How long and steep is the San Juan Grade Road climb?

4.6 miles (7.5 km) at 3.2% on average, climbing 778 ft (237 m) from 240 ft to 1,017 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 6.1%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.

Where does the climb start and finish?

It starts at 36.77353, -121.60327, where San Juan Grade Road leaves Crazy Horse Canyon Road, and tops out at Salinas Road at 36.82175, -121.57061.

Is San Juan Grade 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.

• Oak Ridge DriveCat 3 · 1.1 mi at 9.5% · 531 ft · starts 5.3 mi away
• San Juan Canyon RoadCat 1 · 9.8 mi at 4.9% · 2,516 ft · starts 5.6 mi away
• Salinas RoadCat 3 · 3.7 mi at 3.9% · 768 ft · starts 5.8 mi away
• Quinn Canyon RoadCat 2 · 2.0 mi at 10.9% · 1,132 ft · starts 5.8 mi away
• Vanoni Road from Riverside RoadCat 3 · 1.5 mi at 9.3% · 748 ft · starts 9.3 mi away
• Vanoni Road from Silliman RoadCat 3 · 3.4 mi at 4.6% · 814 ft · starts 11 mi away
• Encinal RoadCat 3 · 3.1 mi at 3.4% · 545 ft · starts 12 mi away
• Parker RoadCat 3 · 2.7 mi at 6.4% · 925 ft · starts 13 mi away