“You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!”
- Dr Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go.
But if riding up a proper mountain can't be on your cycling agenda today, San Diego is the hiding place of many gnarly short climbs that pack a lot of punch into just a single street block, too. Here are, according to me (and my 30x28 granny gear), ten toughest blocks of paved road to cycle up in the County of San Diego. I'm afraid I'm omitting the likes of Poe St north of Evergreen Dr on Pt Loma (the steepest paved 'block' in the city limit at 28.6%), Laurel St at State St (22.5%), B St at 20th (22.5%), the steep block of 46th at Home Ave or Upas St wall west of Florida (20%). They are indeed steep, but I'm sure you will find them comparable quite less achy to go up than the ones on the list.
[Right click & open fotos in new tab to view in full size]
10. Bandini St at San Diego Ave in Mission Hills:Matthew Alice cited the city traffic engineer in pegging this terrible block of cracky pavement at 24.9% grade, though I see no qualms in rounding it out to 25% since the last 5 ft of it is so awful (it seems the concrete road is sliding down the little cliff and the top bit before the level off at California Ave is morphing into an overhang, jacking the gradient up a painful notch). The block is just short enough, however, that Bandini remains my preferred climb up to Mission Hills from the north. The 25% grade bottom ramp is intensely painful, but there is enough rest in the short level off and the mild uphill tick that follow before another short-ish 12% grade stretch around the S-curve with nice view of the bay and the magnificent Villa Felice before the road levels off to connect to Sunset Blvd in Mission Hills proper that I prefer its 3 minutes of pain than the 5-6 minutes grind the other still quite steep routes like Juan St or Presidio Dr or Pringle St have to offer.
9. Torrance St at Keatings St in Mission Hills:
Officially the steepest through block of street in the city at 26% grade, this hidden monster of Mission Hills is what I would call an unnecessary climb since it really isn't on any direct route between Old Town/Five Point and Mission Hills. You have to veer out of the way to climb it. The steepest 3/4 of the block is concrete, and it is about the only thing you could see from the bottom (so if your first encounter with it comes from the Keatings St approach, be warned that the top of the concrete wall you can see actually is not the top of the climb).
8. Loring St at Foothills Blvd in Pacific Beach (south base of Mt Soledad):
7. Illion St at Gardena in Bay Park:
Illion St in Bay Park is where the little knoll on the east side of the valley that houses I-5 sticks its tongue at cyclists, hikers and drivers alike. The four-way stop intersection at the bottom of it ensures that you can't get a running start, and its gnarly concrete primary ramp has a way of hiding from view the slightly less gory tarmac top half of this long block of unmitigated nastiness. It was only fitting that the first time I went up it the Church of St Mary Magdalene at the top of the climb was being visited by a AAA Road Claims agent. The view on top is quite fantastic (there is a huge parking lot with panoramic view of Mission Bay). I'd go back down the hill on either Orten or Milton, if I were you. They are much better at allowing you to come to a stop without risking an over-the-handlebar somersault at the bottom.6. Lucinda St in Pt Loma (La Playa):
Pt Loma is full of nasty walls masquerading as roads. From the fun-filled level ground of Ocean Beach you can see them striping the spine of the peninsula block after block after block, all looking terribly sinister to just about anyone on foot or bike. The most evil wall of the lot is on the other side of Pt Loma; however, moderately hidden between the shores of La Playa and the Wooded Area where expensive mansions overlook a postcard-perfect view of the San Diego Bay resides the long and horrible block of cracky concrete wall by the lovely name
of Lucinda St. Local resident may lovingly call the block Lucy, but to weary cyclists, Lucifer is a more fitting a moniker for the 23% grade monster! I'm only counting the bottom block between Harbor View Pl and Garden State, though Lucinda continues to climb for another block to Bangor St. The view isn't as good from the real top of it as it is from just a bit below Garden State level off, however. A perfect excuse to take a little breather there, especially on a bright and clear day. I don't advice trying to go down this thing. You are much safer doing that on Harbor View Pl next door.
5. Raptor Rd in Poway:
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| Raptor Rd from Sycamore Canyon Rd. |
4. Apple St on Dictionary Hill (Spring Valley):
An apple a day keeps the doctors away, or so the saying goes, but a serving of Apple St over the eastern shoulder of Dictionary Hill by bicycle is more likely to make you wish to see a doctor than not!
Formerly known as 'Lookout Mountain' or 'Gravity Hill', Dictionary Hill is what you would call a steepie-rich environment whose road planner had a certain distaste for curves and cut straight roads up and down cliffs, many of which look only safe to descend down on a parachute rather than on anything with wheels. Apple St is perhaps the most visible of the hyper-vertical thoroughfare in the area.
The climb from the west is steeper than from the east, but not by much. The whole ascent from Capistrano Ave to the crest is 3 blocks long, but the killer last block from Luther Ave on up is a killer all on its own at 21% average with max grade of 28%. The worst thing about it, though, is that it takes its time leveling off at the top.
3. Grand Ave on Dictionary Hill:
There is no shortage of legs-chewing blocks on Dictionary Hill, but the longest and sadly not the shallowest single block climb there is on Grand Ave from the dip just below Date St to the top where pavement fades into a dirt track across the western shoulder of the 'mountain'. It is a long long block at 22% grade that I only ride up when I have need of severe punishment... perhaps after another one of those chocolate cake binge or after having failed to adequately pet the neighbor's cat and hurting her feeling. If only the local nuns knows how much that hill stings they'd just send their repentant sinners over to ride up that block on a bike rather than just handing them a rosary and an allotted number of repeats of the Hail Mary.
The slope does gentle out after Eucalyptus St intersection, but only slowly... and I'm afraid the view is underwhelming from the top of the pavement. I did say it's a punishment hill, right?
2. San Bernardino Ave on Dictionary Hill:
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| San Bernardino Ave at Apple St. |
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| After the first steep hump. |
It is an exhausting business just getting to the base of San Bernardino Ave on Dictionary Hill. You see.. the thing sits on top of our previous entry, Apple St!
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| The real monster! |
Most people would, after having spent most of their quads' glycogen preserve grinding to the top of Apple St, just pretend to not notice the 20+ % grade short block going further up the hillside of Apple. After all, it looks quite (ahem!) insignificant - a perfect facade hiding a truly hideous monster sleeping on the other side...
After that steep hump the road dives into a steep dip before bouncing straight up the rest of Dictionary Hill proper for 2 1/2 torturous blocks at inhumane average gradient of 21% (the two level off intersections at Date and Eucalyptus Sts included in the calculation, which puts max somewhere in the high 30%).
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| From the top of San Bernardino Ave. |
1. Maria Ave north of Chestnut St on Dictionary Hill:
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| First ramp on Maria Ave from Chestnut. |
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| I'm hating myself already... |
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| A view from the top. |
Be aware that you'll probably not be able to coast back down this thing (it's far safer to go down Ramona Ave's 28.3 % grade block next door instead, what with all the cracks and ruts and slippery dirt on the pavement).
Other steepy-related posts:
San Diego North County's Steepest Sub-Mile Climbs
Thanks for the update on this post.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Paul! :o) Are you planning on paying these climbs a visit?
ReplyDeleteDon't forget about B street in sandiego
ReplyDeleteOh, that concrete block on B St is naughty indeed. I think it has the same gradient with that steep block of Laurel St at State, something like 23%. It's pretty short, tho, so not quite as punishing as the ones on the list. :)
DeleteHow about Pine Creek Road north of Pine Valley? It's a tough climb on a mountain bike!
ReplyDeletePine Creek sure is a good tough climb on road and gravel bikes as well. :) I'm only listing the shorter than a mile ones on this article, though. One of these days I'll get around to posting the longer steepies, and both Pine Creek and Kitchen Creek would likely be on it. :)
DeleteThanks for this! Do you happen to know the grade of Xenophon street from Rosecrans to Evergreen Street in Point Loma? I've walked (and biked only once) up and down the hill, and I've always thought it was steeper than Laurel.
ReplyDeleteHi there,
DeleteXenophone between Rosecrans and Evergreen averages 16%, I think, with the intersection level off included. Max grade is around 22%. Laurel is both shorter and less steep (only 15% or so).
If you're in the area of Pt Loma and are steepies-hunting, tho, the steepest grade around there is at Poe St and Evergreen. The city has it listed at 28.6%... but it is really short, so you don't have to be very fit to make it to the top dead end. :)
The worst steep block around there is Lucinda over in La Playa.
Cheers!
Smorg
I want to try the steepest streets in SD on my unicycle. Which streets have the longest and steepest sustained climbs at least 28%in grade?
DeleteSurrey Road Bonita is a kicker, has a concrete section. Probably high 20’s gradient.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed, though not quite as bad as it looks. :) I think the concrete bit is around 10% average and maxes out around 14%.
DeleteI haven't explored enough of the South Bay, yet, but the ickiest thing I've ridden down that way is the paved trail behind Aquatica Water Park off from Otay Valley Rd up to Avenida de las Vistas. It's short... maybe 1/5 mile, but probably around 10% with ramps in the high teens. :)
The steepest stuff are usually in the older parts of town or on private roads (the newer stuff have to be mellower to comply with the modern engineering standard). :)
Thanks for the tip, Willard! Always looking forward to exploring these beasts.
Surrey road is much more than 14%
DeleteI personally believe that Ramona Avenue between Apple Street and Date Street is the single most difficult climb by bike in all of San Diego County. It may be less steep than the Maria Avenue segment, but it is significantly longer and ranges from 20% to 30% grade for over 3/10 of a mile.
ReplyDeleteA couple weeks ago I did several of these Dictionary Hill climbs starting with Ramona Avenue, and Ramona Avenue was by far the hardest. Honestly, I found it more difficult than climbing Palomar Mtn. and that's no joke! Palomar is just a long slow grind that wears down your legs much more than your lungs. But climbing the Ramona Avenue wall non-stop forces you to your VO2 max as it is so steep that you have to ride out of the saddle the whole time to keep momentum going, which will drain you of every ounce of power you have.
I was coughing up a lung by the time I reached the top and it was 4-5 minutes of pure hell! Ramona Avenue will f**k you up like no other climb will, and it deserves to be #1 on this list!
I hear ya'. Ramona Ave is a beast. :) It was hard to decide between Maria, Ramona, Apple, and San Bernardino (assuming they're all ridden thru without stopping, of course), which one to leave off. Dictionary Hill is just a crazy place!
DeleteThe hardest climb in the county for me so far, tho, is Rocky Lane from Moreno (Lakeside) area up to Muth Valley, and the aqueduct trail up the SE side of Lake San Marcos radio tower thru San Elijo. But then... we aren't supposed to ride bike up either. While I've made it up Ramona Ave a few times, I've never managed it up that aqueduct trail even once. It's a sad sad thing!
Totally agreeing with you about Palomar Mtn, of course. That thing is more a test of will than a physical test. But the payoff on the descent is so awesome (whereas it's no fun coming down any of those beast on Dictionary Hills. They're all straight down, with bumpy/cracky pavement, and stop signs at level offs. Ugggh.
I'd like to come to San Diego from my home base near Redondo Beach to try climbing the steepest Hills on my unicycle. Which streets in San Diego have not only the steepest but the longest sustained climbs? I'd like something with at least 28% grade.
ReplyDeleteHi Anon. I don't think we have anything sustained here that's also above 25%.... unless you trespass and go up the escape road from Lakeside up to Muth Valley (but that's really old tarmac crumbling into gravel... and heavily barricaded at the bottom (and not advisable in anything hotter than 80F weather). In town, I'd say, going up Apple St and then continuing on to San Bernardino Ave to the top of Dictionary Hill (Spring Valley area) is the toughest thing, tho you'll get short leveled-off breaks at intersections, and there's a short one city block worth of descent in the middle of it. (And you'll have to come back down roughly the same way.. I don't know anything about unicycles, could it cope with that sort of descents?).
DeleteOn another note, also for cooler weather and on non-holiday weekday only (due to heavy foot traffic on weekends and holidays), is the climb up Mt Woodson Service Rd from Hwy 67 and the CDF Fire Station. It averages below 20%, but the first half mile is very mellow. Once it pitches up it really pitches up and stays that way to the top. Very curvy and narrow road, so will need to descend quite slowly as you don't want to overcook any of the switchback or you'll go airborne and land on some nasty boulders.
Delete