State Highway 49 Climb from Moonshine Road
- long (5.2 km)
- 3.2 mi
- long (5.2 km)
- of climbing (207 m)
- 679 ft
- of climbing (207 m)
- average grade
- 4%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 6.7%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 1,457 ft at the bottom to 2,136 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 State Highway 49 this week
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Is it safe to bike up State Highway 49?
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: 1 bike crash was reported on or beside State Highway 49 along the climb from 2021–2025.
Common questions about State Highway 49
- How long and steep is the State Highway 49 from Moonshine Road climb?
- 3.2 miles (5.2 km) at 4% on average, climbing 679 ft (207 m) from 1,457 ft to 2,136 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 6.7%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 39.39452, -121.08454, where State Highway 49 leaves Moonshine Road, and tops out on the road at 39.36598, -121.1118.
- Is State Highway 49 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
- Moonshine RoadCat 3 · 4.1 mi at 3.9% · 846 ft · starts 0.6 mi away
- Jungle TrailCat 3 · 0.5 mi at 22.9% · 640 ft · starts 0.9 mi away
- Ridge Road from Celestial Valley RoadHC · 14 mi at 4.4% · 3,176 ft · starts 1.5 mi away
- Marysville Road near Nevada CityCat 3 · 3.6 mi at 4.3% · 833 ft · starts 3.0 mi away
- Marysville Road near Nevada CityCat 3 · 1.9 mi at 5.4% · 528 ft · starts 3.0 mi away
- Upper Whittlesey LaneCat 3 · 1.7 mi at 6.4% · 571 ft · starts 3.2 mi away
- Camptonville RoadCat 2 · 3.7 mi at 6.1% · 1,191 ft · starts 4.1 mi away
- Henness Pass Road from Cleveland AvenueCat 1 · 9.8 mi at 4.3% · 2,234 ft · starts 4.5 mi away
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.