Sutherland Dam Road Climb
- long (4.8 km)
- 3.0 mi
- long (4.8 km)
- of climbing (233 m)
- 764 ft
- of climbing (233 m)
- average grade
- 4.9%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 9.2%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 1,729 ft at the bottom to 2,493 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 Sutherland Dam Road this week
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Is it safe to bike up Sutherland Dam 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 Sutherland Dam Road
- How long and steep is the Sutherland Dam Road climb?
- 3.0 miles (4.8 km) at 4.9% on average, climbing 764 ft (233 m) from 1,729 ft to 2,493 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 9.2%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 33.12322, -116.80016, where Sutherland Dam Road leaves Black Canyon Road, and tops out on the road at 33.09809, -116.78945.
- Is Sutherland Dam Road paved?
- Mostly: OpenStreetMap tags 71% of the climb as paved, and the rest as dirt or gravel.
- 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
- Black Mountain Road from Upper Santa Ysabel RoadCat 1 · dirt · 5.5 mi at 8% · 2,297 ft · starts 2.3 mi away
- Pamo RoadCat 3 · 1.8 mi at 7.3% · 679 ft · starts 3.4 mi away
- Horizon View DriveCat 3 · 1.2 mi at 9.1% · 561 ft · starts 6.8 mi away
- Mesa Grande Road near PowayCat 3 · 2.7 mi at 3.7% · 535 ft · starts 7.0 mi away
- Mesa Grande Road from Highway 76Cat 3 · 1.8 mi at 7.6% · 722 ft · starts 7.1 mi away
- Julian HighwayCat 2 · 7.0 mi at 3.6% · 1,329 ft · starts 7.4 mi away
- Route 79 near EscondidoCat 3 · 3.5 mi at 3.4% · 633 ft · starts 7.6 mi away
- East Grade RoadHC · 11 mi at 4.7% · 2,717 ft · starts 8.2 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.