Santa Cruz Highway Climb from Idylwild Road
- long (5.3 km)
- 3.3 mi
- long (5.3 km)
- of climbing (238 m)
- 781 ft
- of climbing (238 m)
- average grade
- 4.5%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 7.2%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 1,063 ft at the bottom to 1,844 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 Santa Cruz Highway this week
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Is it safe to bike up Santa Cruz 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: no bike crashes were reported along the climb from 2021–2025.
Common questions about Santa Cruz Highway
- How long and steep is the Santa Cruz Highway from Idylwild Road climb?
- 3.3 miles (5.3 km) at 4.5% on average, climbing 781 ft (238 m) from 1,063 ft to 1,844 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 7.2%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 37.17008, -121.98961, where Santa Cruz Highway leaves Idylwild Road, and tops out on the road at 37.13395, -121.98214.
- Is Santa Cruz 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
- Santa Cruz Highway from Old Santa Cruz HighwayCat 3 · 3.9 mi at 4.4% · 899 ft · starts 0.5 mi away
- Soda Springs Road from Alma Bridge RoadCat 3 · 2.5 mi at 5.8% · 768 ft · starts 1.0 mi away
- Bear Creek Road near Monte SerenoCat 2 · 4.1 mi at 7.1% · 1,535 ft · starts 1.3 mi away
- Black RoadCat 2 · 4.6 mi at 7.4% · 1,785 ft · starts 1.7 mi away
- Soda Springs Road near Los GatosCat 2 · 3.7 mi at 8.6% · 1,670 ft · starts 1.7 mi away
- Montevina RoadCat 2 · 3.9 mi at 8.8% · 1,811 ft · starts 1.8 mi away
- Old Ranch RoadCat 3 · 0.7 mi at 13.9% · 541 ft · starts 1.9 mi away
- Old Logging RoadCat 3 · 1.9 mi at 8.8% · 856 ft · starts 2.5 mi away
Places to ride to nearby
Bike crash hotspots 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.