Sawmill Motor Way Climb
- long (13.6 km)
- 8.4 mi
- long (13.6 km)
- of climbing (673 m)
- 2,208 ft
- of climbing (673 m)
- average grade
- 5%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 9.3%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 3,235 ft at the bottom to 5,443 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 Sawmill Motor Way this week
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Is it safe to bike up Sawmill Motor Way?
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 Sawmill Motor Way
- How long and steep is the Sawmill Motor Way climb?
- 8.4 miles (13.6 km) at 5% on average, climbing 2,208 ft (673 m) from 3,235 ft to 5,443 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 9.3%. That makes it a Category 1 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 34.67424, -118.45647, where Sawmill Motor Way leaves Lake Hughes Road, and tops out on the road at 34.6842, -118.54275.
- Is Sawmill Motor Way 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
- Pine Canyon Road from Elizabeth Lake RoadCat 3 · 5.2 mi at 3.2% · 876 ft · starts 0.7 mi away
- San Francisquito Canyon RoadCat 2 · 3.9 mi at 5.4% · 1,122 ft · starts 4.5 mi away
- Munz Ranch RoadCat 3 · 4.1 mi at 3.8% · 817 ft · starts 6.5 mi away
- Johnson Road near LancasterCat 3 · 3.5 mi at 5.3% · 974 ft · starts 7.6 mi away
- Pine Canyon Road from 266th Street WestCat 3 · 2.5 mi at 5.2% · 692 ft · starts 9.2 mi away
- Pine Canyon Road from Naomi AvenueCat 3 · 2.2 mi at 4.7% · 551 ft · starts 9.3 mi away
- Sierra Pellona MotorwayHC · dirt · 9.2 mi at 6% · 2,890 ft · starts 10 mi away
- Lookout TrailCat 1 · dirt · 2.7 mi at 15.6% · 2,185 ft · starts 11 mi away
Found from OpenStreetMap roads and USGS 3DEP elevation; ranked on shape only. Category 1: 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.