Banner Grade (SR-78)
- mapped
- 19.4 mi
- mapped
- motorcycle crashes, 2021–2025
- 29
- motorcycle crashes, 2021–2025
- serious or fatal
- 5
- serious or fatal
- fatal
- 0
- fatal
Is Banner Grade (SR-78) open today?
No Caltrans closures listed.
Checked Fri, Nov 13, 10:11 PM Pacific. These lists don't include every closure: Forest Service gates and fire closures can be missing. All riding roads this week.
Is Banner Grade (SR-78) safe to ride on a motorcycle?
We don't rate roads as safe or unsafe: crash counts can't say how risky a road is, and popular riding roads have more crashes partly because more people ride them. What the records show: 29 motorcycle crashes were reported along its 19.4 mapped miles from 2021–2025, 5 of them serious or fatal. 83% involved no other vehicle. What to watch for: Tight corners on a steep grade, weekend Julian traffic, and desert heat at the bottom.
This week's weather
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Motorcycle crashes and deaths on Banner Grade (SR-78)
29 motorcycle crashes were reported within 60 m of the road from 2021–2025: 5 killed or seriously injured someone, and 0 were fatal. 83% involved no other vehicle. Busier roads have more crashes partly because more people ride them, so these counts don't say how risky the road is.
Bends, straights and junctions
Outside city limits, 31 motorcycle crashes were reported on Banner Grade (SR-78) from 2021–2026, 6 of them within 40 m of a junction. Of the other 25, 22 (88%) were in bends tighter than a 100 m radius, which make up 48% of the road. So crashes gather in the bends, more than their share of the road. 22 of the 27 crashes with no other vehicle were in bends.
A crash alone in a bend usually means running wide or losing grip: set your speed before the bend, look through it, and expect gravel, sand or diesel mid-corner.
The bends with the most crashes
- 3 crashes in one bend: 3 with no other vehicle; tightest radius about 48 m.
- 3 crashes in one bend: 3 with no other vehicle, 3 of 3 on the grade going downhill; tightest radius about 29 m.
- 3 crashes in one bend: 3 with no other vehicle, 3 of 3 on the grade going downhill; tightest radius about 50 m.
How we tell bends from straights, and every riding road compared
Places along the way
Camping near Banner Grade (SR-78)
Campgrounds and RV parks within about 5 miles of the road (straight line), nearest first. Seasons, fire restrictions and closures change, so check with whoever runs it before you go.
- Banner RanchRV park · 2,763 ft · on the roadOn the mapWebsite
- PinezanitaRV park · 4,551 ft · 2.2 mi from the roadOn the mapWebsite
- KQ RanchRV park · Colorado River Adventures · 4,673 ft · 2.2 mi from the roadOn the mapWebsite
- Yaqui Well Primitive Campground1,458 ft · 3.2 mi from the road · toilets, freeOn the map
- Bobcat TracksRV park · 2,403 ft · 3.4 mi from the roadOn the map
- Coyote PackRV park · 2,406 ft · 3.4 mi from the roadOn the map
Campgrounds from Recreation.gov (federal campgrounds, 2026-10-18) and OpenStreetMap (2026-09-28); water, toilets and showers only where they're listed. Elevation from USGS.
Common questions about Banner Grade (SR-78)
- What is Banner Grade (SR-78) like to ride?
- Steep, winding descent from Julian down to the desert at Banner.
- How long is Banner Grade (SR-78)?
- About 19.4 miles as mapped in OpenStreetMap, for the stretch we cover.
- Is Banner Grade (SR-78) open today?
- As of Fri, Nov 13, 10:11 PM Pacific, no Caltrans closures are listed on it today. These lists don't include every closure (Forest Service gates and fire closures can be missing), so check Caltrans QuickMap before you go.
Other riding roads nearby
Crashes: motorcycle crashes reported within 60 m of the road, 2021–2025, from the California Crash Reporting System (CCRS). Road: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Weather: National Weather Service. Distances to other roads are between their middles, in a straight line. How the data works.