Palm Springs - Tramway Road Hill Climb Ride Report
 

Spent some time with family this week out in Palm Springs and, despite the ridiculous heat, was able to get out and climb Tramway Road. This is the road that goes to the bottom of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and is also one of the steepest climbs in southern California. This is a road that, instead of switchbacking, just goes straight up.

The important stuff..

• Length: 3.8 miles
• Elevation Gain: 1910 ft
• Average Grade: 9.5%
• Last 1.2 miles: 12%
• Last 1/2 mile: 14.3%

Additionally, this climb gets some nice mentions in the Complete Guide to Climbing (By Bike) in California book:

• 2nd steepest climb in southern California at a 9.5% average grade
• #1 fastest descent in southern California
• #1 climb with the greatest length of > 10% grade in southern California (1.6 miles long)
• #5 most scenic/spectacular climb in southern California

The ride report:

http://www.toughascent.com/blog/?p=193

Some pictures:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_8HKEZakuboQ/TE...0/CIMG3343.JPG

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8HKEZakuboQ/TE...0/CIMG3373.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8HKEZakuboQ/TE...0/CIMG3377.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_8HKEZakuboQ/TE...0/CIMG3380.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_8HKEZakuboQ/TE...0/CIMG3385.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_8HKEZakuboQ/TE...0/CIMG3394.JPG

Steep:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_8HKEZakuboQ/TE...0/CIMG3398.JPG

Descending:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8HKEZakuboQ/TE...0/CIMG3404.JPG

More pictures and maps and all that jazz in the ride report above.

nice pics! that pavement is way sketchy on the descent...no prob on the ascent cuz you're going so slow. the wtf dip in the middle just gives you hope that the worst part is over. that dissipates quickly on the straightaway up to the steepest ramps starting at the parking areas. the pics, while beautiful, do not do adequate justice to the severity of the grade.

the first part of the descent is dangerous with the 'ski jump' ramp feel to it and then having to shift to the left to avoid the rock that juts out where the road become a one way street. the nice part about the descent is once you reach the bottom and take the curving right towards downtown palm springs at 30 mph or so, you scarcely have to pedal to get there with the prevailing tailwind. then it's off to sherman's deli on tahquitz for whatever you desire...nommy!:p

Thanks for the compliment on the pics. Since this road does not believe in switchbacks, virtually all of the photos do not do justice to the grade. And yeah, that slight dip to the creek is cruel...it leads right into the really steep stuff.

Not knowing Palm Springs all that well, I will add Sherman's to my to-try list for next time. Thanks!

And yeah, the descent is very fast but a bit dangerous if you don't slow down for certain sections. Which part of the road are you talking about with the rock jutting jutting out? I'm assuming it is before the 90 degree curve at the creek crossing. Yes?

Nice work. How fast did you go on the way down?

the top of the road by the actual tram car station is kinda shaped like the eye of a threading needle. where the loop closes and the one way street signs start/stop is where i'm talking about.
the very beginning of the descent reminds me of a ski jump...it's just straight down so as to gather speed. the only problem is that a rather large piece of rock juts out on your right before that
junction with the main straightaway and forces you close to the road's edge on the left. can be lotsa small gravel on the road edge that's hard to pick up cause you're avoiding the rock at eye level. very easy to be doing 40 mph at that point in a verry short time. speed + gravel + turn = wipeout central. be careful everyone but have fun. personal best on that hill...62.5 mph and do not care to go that fast on a road of that quality ever again.

Gotcha. I slowed to a stop around there to take a photo of the road, but I can definitely see what you are talking about. That section is very steep and builds up speed extremely quickly.

Only 50.0 mph. I could have definitely gone faster, but this was my first time descending the road. I don't like to push the downhill speeds until I am familiar with the road quality and layout. Additionally, I took some pictures along the way down, further slowing me down. With that said, 50mph is not hard to hit along the top section of Tramway. If you like descending at high speed, that top section is pretty thrilling.

Great write up and pictures. Having been up that road many times to take the tram up and hike to the top of San Jack, I have always wanted to take the bike up there. Now that you wrote your ride up so nicely, it is almost like I have done it myself and do not need to do it , but I will, Once again, great write up.:50:

Great pics! I rode up that hill once several years ago and still think it's the single toughest climb I've done. You guys are much braver than me on the downhill speed though. With the crappy road condition I didn't want to go too fast and barely broke 20.

And I'll agree on Sherman's for breakfast!

50's pretty fast - nice work.

Great pictures.

:lol: If you do make it out there, try to get some cycling in at Joshua Tree as well. Tramway and Joshua Tree seem to be the 2 must do rides in the area.


It is a tough climb. For a medium length climb, it is one of the toughest around. As for the road condition, the upper section actually had good paving. Maybe it was repaved since you were last up? The lower section, however, I hear you. I was still doing 30-40 for it, but that practically involved a death grip on the bars to keep upright. Sounds like I definitely need to try Sherman's!

Thanks. 50 on that upper stretch was thrilling. Definitely got the adrenaline pumping.

Thanks :)

joshua tree is the ride in the coachella valley region. one that gets overlooked
a lot is the road that winds through the mecca hills east of indio. you can take it and link up with the southern entrance to joshua tree np. beautiful desert scenery but pretty desolate-no am/pm's
or 7-11's out there for food/drink and cell phone coverage is sketchy. pavement isn't that great but it's worth doing at least once. thousand palms road-linking ramon and dillon roads in thousand palms is nice too.

Interesting you mention those two. Mecca riding was also on my list, but I didn't get a chance to try it out this trip. And Thousand Palms Canyon I got to ride part of one evening. Nice road.

Thousand Palms Canyon:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_8HKEZakuboQ/TE...0/CIMG3484.JPG

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8HKEZakuboQ/TE...0/CIMG3496.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_8HKEZakuboQ/TE...0/CIMG3497.JPG

The worst part of this climb is that it doesn't look like you're even climbing, until you look behind you.

I've hiked Mt. San Jacinto a number of times. Driving up to the tram, I always wonder why my car seems so doggy. Best explanation is that the mountains rise so steep that one doesn't realize that the road is a royal chocolate *****kitty of a climb. My sister blew up her VW driving up that road- you made better time than she did.

It is very deceptive when looking at it. There are a few reasons for that. First, the road has no switchbacks. Second, the mountains do indeed rise very sharply. Third, the whole valley that you are climbing up is ascending along with you, so you get no flat frame-of-reference. Take a look at the terrain map:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8HKEZakuboQ/TE...00/tramway.jpg

Notice that everything surrounding the road is climbing at least as steeply as the road itself. This basically makes the road look rather flat and really screws with your mind as you are suffering up the climb. Fun stuff.

What combo did you use to climb this monster? GI? Thanks.

I run a triple with a 30-25T low gear combo. It definitely helps on a climb like this.