HC climb · Dirt or gravel

Sanger Peak Road Climb

Tops out at Obrien-Elk Valley Road.
long (22.5 km)
14 mi
long (22.5 km)
of climbing (1,161 m)
3,809 ft
of climbing (1,161 m)
average grade
5.2%
average grade
steepest 500 m
11.3%
steepest 500 m

Elevation profile

1,6605,4695 mi10 mi0
Grade per 500 m:under 3%3–5%5–7%7–9%9–12%12% and up

From 1,660 ft at the bottom to 5,469 ft at the top. Grades are averaged over each half kilometre, from USGS elevation data, so short ramps can be steeper than they show.

Map of the Sanger Peak Road climb
S: bottom, E: top. Map © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap.

Weather at the top of Sanger Peak Road this week

Weather

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Is it safe to bike up Sanger Peak 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. Most of this climb is a dirt road, and falls away from public roads rarely reach police reports. What the records show: no bike crashes were reported along the climb from 2021–2025.

Common questions about Sanger Peak Road

How long and steep is the Sanger Peak Road climb?
14 miles (22.5 km) at 5.2% on average, climbing 3,809 ft (1,161 m) from 1,660 ft to 5,469 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 11.3%. That makes it a Hors catégorie climb.
Where does the climb start and finish?
It starts at 42.06058, -123.63876, and tops out at Obrien-Elk Valley Road at 41.91717, -123.64962.
Is Sanger Peak Road paved?
Mostly not: OpenStreetMap tags 100% of the climb as dirt or gravel. Dirt roads can be closed in fire season or after rain, so check with the land manager.
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

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.