Upper Grouse Valley Road Climb
- long (10.6 km)
- 6.6 mi
- long (10.6 km)
- of climbing (656 m)
- 2,152 ft
- of climbing (656 m)
- average grade
- 6.2%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 11%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 3,586 ft at the bottom to 5,738 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 Upper Grouse Valley Road this week
Loading forecast…
Is it safe to bike up Upper Grouse Valley 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 Upper Grouse Valley Road
- How long and steep is the Upper Grouse Valley Road climb?
- 6.6 miles (10.6 km) at 6.2% on average, climbing 2,152 ft (656 m) from 3,586 ft to 5,738 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 11%. That makes it a Category 1 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 36.28327, -118.77686, where Upper Grouse Valley Road leaves Blue Ridge Drive, and ends at a gate at 36.28713, -118.83887.
- Is Upper Grouse Valley 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
- Ranchria Fire RoadCat 1 · dirt · 4.8 mi at 8.7% · 2,198 ft · starts 4.4 mi away
- Yokohl Valley Drive from Balch Park RoadCat 3 · 3.2 mi at 5.1% · 866 ft · starts 4.9 mi away
- Dirt RoadCat 1 · dirt · 3.3 mi at 13.5% · 2,388 ft · starts 5.5 mi away
- County Highway J37Cat 2 · 2.6 mi at 11% · 1,509 ft · starts 6.3 mi away
- Bear Creek Road from Balch Park RoadHC · 15 mi at 6.4% · 4,954 ft · starts 6.8 mi away
- Grouse Valley RoadCat 1 · dirt · 8.0 mi at 6.2% · 2,615 ft · starts 7.0 mi away
- Yokohl Valley Drive near LindsayCat 2 · 7.5 mi at 4.2% · 1,663 ft · starts 8.4 mi away
- Balch Park RoadHC · 24 mi at 4.1% · 5,272 ft · starts 10.0 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.