West Camino Cielo Climb from Refugio Road
- long (9.8 km)
- 6.1 mi
- long (9.8 km)
- of climbing (558 m)
- 1,831 ft
- of climbing (558 m)
- average grade
- 5.7%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 11.2%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 2,260 ft at the bottom to 4,091 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 West Camino Cielo this week
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Is it safe to bike up West Camino Cielo?
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 West Camino Cielo
- How long and steep is the West Camino Cielo from Refugio Road climb?
- 6.1 miles (9.8 km) at 5.7% on average, climbing 1,831 ft (558 m) from 2,260 ft to 4,091 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 11.2%. That makes it a Category 2 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 34.53357, -120.06221, where West Camino Cielo leaves Refugio Road, and tops out on the road at 34.52714, -119.982.
- Is West Camino Cielo paved?
- Mostly: OpenStreetMap tags 92% 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
- Refugio RoadCat 1 · 6.9 mi at 6.1% · 2,218 ft · starts 4.7 mi away
- Happy Canyon RoadHC · 16 mi at 4.4% · 3,786 ft · starts 5.9 mi away
- Gaviota Peak Fire RoadCat 1 · dirt · 3.1 mi at 13% · 2,133 ft · starts 9.5 mi away
- Cabrillo Highway near SolvangCat 3 · 2.1 mi at 6.9% · 758 ft · starts 9.9 mi away
- Figueroa Mountain RoadHC · 16 mi at 4.3% · 3,602 ft · starts 10 mi away
- El Camino Real near SolvangCat 3 · 4.4 mi at 3.7% · 866 ft · starts 10 mi away
- Stagecoach RoadCat 2 · 5.0 mi at 5.1% · 1,348 ft · starts 11 mi away
- Chumash Highway near GoletaCat 2 · 2.3 mi at 8.7% · 1,073 ft · starts 12 mi away
Places to ride to nearby
Bike crash hotspots nearby
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.