Palomar Mountain (South & East Grade)
- mapped
- 19.4 mi
- mapped
- motorcycle crashes, 2021–2025
- 45
- motorcycle crashes, 2021–2025
- serious or fatal
- 14
- serious or fatal
- fatal
- 2
- fatal
Is Palomar Mountain (South & East Grade) open today?
Not a state route, so Caltrans doesn’t list it.
Checked Sat, Nov 14, 4:05 PM Pacific. These lists don't include every closure: Forest Service gates and fire closures can be missing. All riding roads this week.
Is Palomar Mountain (South & East Grade) 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: 45 motorcycle crashes were reported along its 19.4 mapped miles from 2021–2025, 14 of them serious or fatal (2 fatal). 76% involved no other vehicle. What to watch for: South Grade is very tight with sharp hairpins. Weekend crowds and fog near the top.
This week's weather
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Motorcycle crashes and deaths on Palomar Mountain (South & East Grade)
45 motorcycle crashes were reported within 60 m of the road from 2021–2025: 14 killed or seriously injured someone, and 2 were fatal. 76% 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, 52 motorcycle crashes were reported on Palomar Mountain (South & East Grade) from 2021–2026, 4 of them within 40 m of a junction. Of the other 48, 46 (96%) were in bends tighter than a 100 m radius, which make up 77% of the road. So crashes gather in the bends, more than their share of the road. 35 of the 40 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.
Crashes with another vehicle in bends are often an oncoming car across the centre line: keep away from the centre line in blind bends.
The bends with the most crashes
- 7 crashes in one bend: 5 with no other vehicle, 3 of 3 on the grade going downhill; tightest radius about 48 m.
- 3 crashes in one bend: 3 with no other vehicle; tightest radius about 28 m.
- 3 crashes in one bend: 1 with no other vehicle, 0 of 3 on the grade going downhill; tightest radius about 26 m.
How we tell bends from straights, and every riding road compared
Places along the way
Camping near Palomar Mountain (South & East Grade)
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.
- Oak Knoll CampgroundRV park · 2,745 ft · on the roadOn the map
- Crestline Group CampgroundGroup campground · Forest Service · 1 site · 5,287 ft · on the road · feeOn the mapReserve
- Observatory Campground - USFSForest Service · 28 sites · 4,870 ft · 2.1 mi from the roadOn the mapReserve
- Fry Creek CampgroundForest Service · 12 sites · 5,091 ft · 2.3 mi from the roadOn the mapReserve
- Doane valley camp ground4,717 ft · 2.7 mi from the roadOn the map
- Harrison Serenity Ranch3,575 ft · 3.3 mi from the road · feeOn the mapWebsite
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.
Rides that use this road
Common questions about Palomar Mountain (South & East Grade)
- What is Palomar Mountain (South & East Grade) like to ride?
- Tight switchbacks on South Grade, faster sweepers on East Grade.
- How long is Palomar Mountain (South & East Grade)?
- About 19.4 miles as mapped in OpenStreetMap, for the stretch we cover.
- Is Palomar Mountain (South & East Grade) open today?
- Check Caltrans QuickMap (quickmap.dot.ca.gov) for closures, chain controls and roadwork before you go. Mountain roads close for snow, rockslides and fire, and some sections close every winter.
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.