Slug Gulch Road Climb
- long (8.6 km)
- 5.3 mi
- long (8.6 km)
- of climbing (415 m)
- 1,362 ft
- of climbing (415 m)
- average grade
- 4.9%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 10.3%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 2,241 ft at the bottom to 3,602 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 Slug Gulch Road this week
Loading forecast…
Is it safe to bike up Slug Gulch 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. What the records show: no bike crashes were reported along the climb from 2021–2025.
Common questions about Slug Gulch Road
- How long and steep is the Slug Gulch Road climb?
- 5.3 miles (8.6 km) at 4.9% on average, climbing 1,362 ft (415 m) from 2,241 ft to 3,602 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 10.3%. That makes it a Category 2 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 38.59809, -120.65312, where Slug Gulch Road leaves Perry Creek Road, and tops out at Omo Ranch Road at 38.58196, -120.57711.
- Is Slug Gulch 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.
Other climbs nearby
- Boondock TrailCat 3 · 1.9 mi at 7.4% · 719 ft · starts 0.6 mi away
- Grizzly Flat Road from Mount Aukum RoadCat 2 · 5.7 mi at 3.5% · 1,076 ft · starts 3.8 mi away
- Sweeney DriveCat 3 · 3.3 mi at 5.8% · 1,007 ft · starts 4.0 mi away
- Happy Valley Road near PlacervilleCat 1 · 6.4 mi at 7% · 2,343 ft · starts 4.1 mi away
- Sly Park RoadCat 1 · 12 mi at 3.7% · 2,441 ft · starts 4.4 mi away
- Grizzly Flat Road near PlacervilleCat 3 · 2.3 mi at 7.8% · 961 ft · starts 4.6 mi away
- Bucks Bar RoadCat 3 · 2.6 mi at 5.7% · 781 ft · starts 4.6 mi away
- Tower RoadCat 3 · 1.3 mi at 8.3% · 554 ft · starts 4.7 mi away
Found from OpenStreetMap roads and USGS 3DEP elevation; ranked on shape only. Category 2: 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.