Cat 3 climb · Paved

White Mountain Road Climb from Mad River Road

From Mad River Road. Ends where the road ends.
long (1.5 km)
1.0 mi
long (1.5 km)
of climbing (205 m)
673 ft
of climbing (205 m)
average grade
13.3%
average grade
steepest 500 m
14.9%
steepest 500 m

Elevation profile

2,7003,3730
Grade per 500 m:under 3%3–5%5–7%7–9%9–12%12% and up

From 2,700 ft at the bottom to 3,373 ft at the top. Grades are averaged over each half kilometre, from USGS elevation data, so short ramps can be steeper than they show.

Map of the White Mountain Road from Mad River Road climb
S: bottom, E: top. Map © Mapbox © OpenStreetMap.

Weather at the top of White Mountain Road this week

Weather

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Is it safe to bike up White Mountain 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 White Mountain Road

How long and steep is the White Mountain Road from Mad River Road climb?
1.0 miles (1.5 km) at 13.3% on average, climbing 673 ft (205 m) from 2,700 ft to 3,373 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 14.9%. That makes it a Category 3 climb.
Where does the climb start and finish?
It starts at 40.31577, -123.36372, where White Mountain Road leaves Mad River Road, and ends where the road ends at 40.32099, -123.35292.
Is White Mountain 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

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.