West Whitlock Road Climb
- long (4.2 km)
- 2.6 mi
- long (4.2 km)
- of climbing (171 m)
- 561 ft
- of climbing (171 m)
- average grade
- 4%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 6.5%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 2,464 ft at the bottom to 3,025 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 Whitlock Road this week
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Is it safe to bike up West Whitlock 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 West Whitlock Road
- How long and steep is the West Whitlock Road climb?
- 2.6 miles (4.2 km) at 4% on average, climbing 561 ft (171 m) from 2,464 ft to 3,025 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 6.5%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 37.50786, -120.00233, where West Whitlock Road leaves Golden Chain Highway, and tops out on the road at 37.53572, -120.01111.
- Is West Whitlock 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
- C Y A RoadCat 2 · 3.2 mi at 6.2% · 1,056 ft · starts 1.6 mi away
- Alta Vista RoadCat 3 · 1.5 mi at 8.6% · 699 ft · starts 1.7 mi away
- Central Yosemite HighwayCat 3 · 3.2 mi at 3.1% · 535 ft · starts 2.5 mi away
- Central Yosemite Highway from Miller RoadCat 3 · 1.9 mi at 5.5% · 538 ft · starts 2.7 mi away
- Central Yosemite Highway from Miller RoadCat 2 · 4.4 mi at 4.6% · 1,066 ft · starts 2.8 mi away
- Crystal Aire DriveCat 3 · 1.3 mi at 8.9% · 617 ft · starts 3.5 mi away
- Colorado RoadCat 3 · 1.5 mi at 7.2% · 561 ft · starts 4.2 mi away
- Golden Chain Highway from Fairgrounds RoadCat 3 · 2.1 mi at 6.4% · 702 ft · starts 4.2 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.