San Mateo Road Climb from Main Street

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 Mateo Road from Main Street climb?

5.0 miles (8.0 km) at 3% on average, climbing 801 ft (244 m) from 62 ft to 863 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 7%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.

Where does the climb start and finish?

It starts at 37.46789, -122.4307, where San Mateo Road leaves Main Street, and tops out at Half Moon Bay Road at 37.49556, -122.36892.

Is San Mateo 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.

• Higgins Canyon RoadCat 3 · 2.7 mi at 4.4% · 623 ft · starts 1.4 mi away
• San Mateo Road near Half Moon BayCat 3 · 1.8 mi at 6.8% · 627 ft · starts 3.1 mi away
• El Granada BoulevardCat 3 · 1.1 mi at 10.1% · 574 ft · starts 3.2 mi away
• Skyline Boulevard from San Mateo RoadCat 2 · 8.0 mi at 3.5% · 1,473 ft · starts 3.9 mi away
• Half Moon Bay RoadCat 3 · 1.9 mi at 5.8% · 564 ft · starts 5.2 mi away
• Lobitos Creek RoadCat 3 · 3.4 mi at 3.1% · 554 ft · starts 6.0 mi away
• Native Sons RoadCat 3 · 1.3 mi at 8.3% · 591 ft · starts 6.6 mi away
• Tunitas Creek RoadCat 2 · 9.0 mi at 4.2% · 2,011 ft · starts 7.6 mi away