United StatesCalifornia Hwy 190
Hwy 190 Bike Climb - PJAMM Cycling

9.9
FIETS
22.3 mi
DISTANCE
6,092 ft
GAINED
5 %
AVG. GRADE
FULL CLIMB STATS
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Page Contributor(s): Bruce Hamilton, La Quinta, CA; Stacy Topping, Tacoma, WA; Lisa Irizarry, NY, NY

INTRO

"Route 190 is a long and solid climb that starts just east of Springville, CA that contains one of the largest elevation gains of any United States hill. From the bridge over the North Fork of the Tule River, head up the hill over shallow grade to begin with views of big mountains in front of you. You should encounter little traffic on this hill most days. Soon the road enters a drainage and starts to twist along the ridge through thick brush in places. Never steep, it is along one of the most twisty routes you will find among a climb this large. Great views of the drainage down low and thick trees up top make this a scenic climb. the grade is steady almost all the way up this very long hill..." (This quote is presented with the approval of John Summerson, from his book, The Complete Guide to Climbing (by Bike) in California, pg. 161.)

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ROUTE MAP

MEMBER RATING

Difficulty: Challenging
5
Road
5
Traffic
4
Scenery

CURRENT WEATHER

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May 1, 2021
difficulty: Challenging
scenery: 4
traffic: 5
road: 5
May 1, 2021
scenery: 4
traffic: 5
road: 5
Awesome relaxing and scenic climb! Excellent pavement with almost no cars- we ride bikes for climbs like this! Nothing was steep just cruise right up. I kept waiting for the 20% but my wahoo never read above 13%. It did however get very windy towards the top. Good food and friendly service at the top at Ponderosa Lodge... Huge Portions! Recommend going down the other side to get views of the sequoias and loop back around. Note the strava segment is actually 26 miles and starts as soon as you cross the bridge out of springville. Highly recommend!
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PROFILE TOOL

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CLIMB SUMMARY

Cycling Highway 190 into the Sequoia National Forest - panoramic Sierras view from roadside

Cycling Highway 190 into the Sequoia National Forest, another US 100 Bike Climb.

22.4 miles gaining 7,371’ to 6,985’ elevation at 4.9%.

 

This climb can be done along with two other Top U.S. Climbs that are within eight miles of each other, specifically #20 Bear Creek Road and #112 Balch Park Road / YouTube.

Cycling Highway 190 into the Sequoia National Forest - straight portion of two-lane roadway on Highway 190

The bike climb begins just east of Springville on Highway 190.

Cycling Highway 190 into the Sequoia National Forest - NPS sign for Giant Sequoia National Monument

Enter Sequoia National Forest and National Monument in first mile.

This climb is at the very southwestern end of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.

Cycling Highway 190 into the Sequoia National Forest - views and signs along the first half of the climb, including elevation markers reading 4000 feet

Views along the first half of the climb.

Cycling Highway 190 into the Sequoia National Forest - water conduit in Sequoia National Park

    Cycling Highway 190 into the Sequoia National Forest - cyclists riding on two-lane highway road in the Sierras with no shoulder

Two lane road throughout, but no shoulder.  

The climb seemed safe the one time we rode it.

Cycling Highway 190 into the Sequoia National Forest - signs at climb's finish, including an elevation marker reading 6000 feet

Climb’s Finish.

Southern Sierra climber extraordinaire, Joey Galloway, writes of this bicycle climb:

"Hwy 190 is a long climb!  It should be 26 miles, from the bridge to Ponderosa, and 6,200 ft climbing.  The first 14 miles, from the bridge to Pierpoint Springs, is the tough part with quite a few kickers.  There is also a sustained section of around 5 miles @ 7% avg beginning at the power station.  Once reaching Camp Nelson the gradient drops to almost a false flat for the last 11-12 miles.  As with virtually all the climbs in Tulare County it starts in a desert-like setting, then around the 5,000 ft elevation mark it turns into an alpine setting.  Also, 190 is a very twisty, turny  ascent with plenty of switchbacks and blind corners.  Once I reach Ponderosa I like to pull into the restaurant and have a burger or two as reward for conquering this beast.  The food is quite good!"

     

Cycling Highway 190 into the Sequoia National Forest - PJAMM Cyclist Stacy Topping smiles on bike next to sign for End California Highway 190, climb's finish

End of the highway, end of the bike climb.

Thank you Stacy Topping.

We climbed this challenging ascent in July 2015 and add the following to Joey’s excellent summary:

  • We enter Sequoia National Forest in the first mile of the climb.
  •  We experienced the changing scenery referred to by Joey above.  An excellent summary of the landscape changes we encounter throughout the Southwestern Sierras is found at the National Park Services website.  In summary, we encounter the following vegetation/landscape zones as we climb through and above the Sierra foothills:
  • Start (foothills):  blue oak and brush (e.g. chaparral).
  • Lower to middle slope:  Mixed-conifer forest - ponderosa pine, incense-cedar, white fir, sugar pine.
  • Upper slope:  Red fir and lodgepole pine. Thick forest dominates the mountainsides as we climb up to and then past Pierpont/Camp Nelson (at mile 12.5, but the forested scenery begins a couple miles earlier).

We do not encounter the Giant Sequoias on this climb that we do on the Whitaker Forest (#19), Bear Creek (#21), Highway 21-245-180-198 (#43), or Balch Park (#97) climbs noted elsewhere on this site.  

  • The entrance to this climb is the pass into Long Canyon at about mile two (defined by a distinct sheer rock wall on the right) -- we pass through and then look back on this pass over the next 10 miles as it becomes smaller and smaller in the distance -- a reminder of the significant length of this ride as we ascend (see slideshow, above).

Cycling Highway 190 into the Sequoia National Forest - PJAMM Cyclist climbs on steep curve in roadway, Sierra setting

  • Two options for food - we did pull into the Pierpont Coffee Shop at mile 12.6 and can attest to the yummy apple pie and old-school coffee shop charm of this spot -- excellent!

Cycling Highway 190 into the Sequoia National Forest - road sign for Pierpoint Springs, parking lot, apple pie

  • Just 2 miles down 190 from the finish is the Ponderosa Lodge that has been recommended to us - (Google Map + Reviews).

Of Ponderosa Lodge, Lisa Irizarry says:  Yes we ate at the Ponderosa Lodge. Food was good but super filling/ large portions. Really nice outdoor area and nicely situated in the sun to keep us warm! This is my husbands pastrami sandwich.