Mount Hamilton is the highest peak in California’s Bay Area, topping out at 4,354′ (1327 meters). The Lick Observatory is perched on its summit, and you have that observatory to thank for the lack of steep pitches on this long ascent.

(The observatory’s construction began in 1876, so the road was made with shallow enough gradients to allow mule teams to haul heavy equipment to the top. That’s why this climb’s pitches are steady between 5-7%, and there are two significant downhill sections.)

As one of the area’s three iconic climbs (the others being Mt. Tam and Diablo), this is bucket-list ride for Bay Area cyclists. The IRL climb is constantly serpentining after the first few miles, rewarding riders with more and more incredible views as your ascend.

Don’t let the average gradient fool you, though! That metric is skewed by the ~6 kilometers of downhill or flat road. Take those out, and this climb has around 25 kilometers of steady 5-7% climbing.

Two bits of timely trivia: as of September 2024, this climb is the longest of Zwift’s Climb Portals. Also, the Strava KOM for the IRL segment (below) is held by cookie-loving KOM hunter Phil Gaimon!

Here’s the IRL segment that follows the same path up Mt. Hamilton Road: