Yankee Jims Road Climb
- long (12.3 km)
- 7.6 mi
- long (12.3 km)
- of climbing (692 m)
- 2,270 ft
- of climbing (692 m)
- average grade
- 5.6%
- average grade
- steepest 500 m
- 8.3%
- steepest 500 m
Elevation profile
From 951 ft at the bottom to 3,222 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 Yankee Jims Road this week
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Is it safe to bike up Yankee Jims 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. Most of this climb is a dirt road, and falls away from public roads rarely reach police reports. What the records show: no bike crashes were reported along the climb from 2021–2025.
Common questions about Yankee Jims Road
- How long and steep is the Yankee Jims Road climb?
- 7.6 miles (12.3 km) at 5.6% on average, climbing 2,270 ft (692 m) from 951 ft to 3,222 ft. The steepest half kilometre averages 8.3%. That makes it a Category 1 climb.
- Where does the climb start and finish?
- It starts at 39.04018, -120.90313, and tops out at Gold Street at 39.0208, -120.81856.
- Is Yankee Jims Road paved?
- Mostly not: OpenStreetMap tags 51% of the climb as dirt or gravel. Dirt roads can be closed in fire season or after rain, so check with the land manager.
- 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
- Ponderosa Way near ColfaxCat 2 · 5.4 mi at 5.1% · 1,460 ft · starts 3.3 mi away
- Shady Oak DriveCat 3 · 0.9 mi at 11% · 528 ft · starts 3.9 mi away
- Iowa Hill Road near ColfaxHC · 11 mi at 4.7% · 2,717 ft · starts 4.3 mi away
- Iowa Hill Road near ColfaxCat 2 · 2.9 mi at 7.7% · 1,194 ft · starts 4.3 mi away
- McKeon Ponderosa WayCat 3 · 2.2 mi at 6.2% · 715 ft · starts 5.0 mi away
- Big Dipper RoadCat 2 · 5.3 mi at 4.5% · 1,260 ft · starts 5.2 mi away
- Milk Ranch RoadCat 3 · 2.3 mi at 5.1% · 607 ft · starts 5.6 mi away
- Plumtree RoadCat 3 · 1.3 mi at 7.9% · 538 ft · starts 5.6 mi away
Places to ride to nearby
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.