Hwy 153 Bike Climb - PJAMM Cycling

7.9
FIETS
18 mi
DISTANCE
4,324 ft
GAINED
4.5 %
AVG. GRADE

FULL CLIMB STATS

Page Contributor(s): Ron Hawks, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Bruce Hamilton/Stacy Topping, USA

INTRO

Highway 153 is ranked #77 on the US Top 100 list. The climb begins just east of Beaver, UT (a small town of about 3,000) and ends on Elk Meadows Drive at Eagle Point Ski Resort. If coming from Salt Lake City, this is the first of the three southern Utah Top 100 Climbs (37 miles north of #36 Highway 143 and 102 miles north of #75 Kolob Terrace) as we travel south from SLC. 
"The route up 153 to Elk Meadows is a solid climb to high altitude. The road heads up a drainage along a scenic creek over the bottom half of the climb. After a few scenic switchbacks the high mountains appear and you enter a small valley where the grade flattens. You soon pass the Elk Meadows ski area (right) where the grade increases..." (This quote is presented with the approval of John Summerson from his book, 50 Climbs (by Bike) in Utah, pg. 130.)
4.5% average grade (4.9% if descent is eliminated from the gradient formula).  51% of the climb is in the 0-5% gradient range, 37% is at 5-10% grade, and 6% is at 10-15%.   The steepest quarter-mile is 11.6% and steepest mile 9.7%.

See more details and tools regarding this climb's grade via the “Profile Tool” button.
Roadway:  Two lane highway in fair to good condition with minimal to no shoulder. 

Traffic:  Mild. 

Parking:  At the golf course parking lot on the left about 100 yards up from the start of the climb (Map Street View). 
Provisions:  None on the way. There may be something available at the golf course near climb start, and there is a store and places to eat in Beaver a mile west of our start point. 
Before heading out on any cycling adventure check out our Things to Bring on a Cycling Trip and use our interactive check list to ensure you don't forget anything.
This is one of three top 100 bike climbs on the way from Salt Lake City to Zion or Grand Canyon National Parks. 

Use the “Routes in Area” button on the menu bar to see other bike climbs in this area.

ROUTE MAP

MEMBER RATING

Difficulty: Challenging
4
Road
4
Traffic
3.7
Scenery

CURRENT WEATHER

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MEMBER REVIEWS & COMMENTS

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Jul 15, 2023
difficulty: Challenging
scenery: 3
traffic: 4
road: 4
Jul 15, 2023
scenery: 3
traffic: 4
road: 4
July 14, 2023 94° when I started the climb in Beaver then got cooler as I ascended. 80° at the top. First 17 miles are a gradual climb on a good road with areas of no shoulder and some shoulder. Light traffic and low speeds so felt safe. The final 3 miles are the hardest with increased grade and altitude. At the top, take a left up a road with new homes to reach 10,200ft. Continuing straight on the main road, you'll do a short decent then a gradual climb up to the summit sign showing 10,000ft. Great decent. A few places where falling rocks have damaged the road but easy to ride around. At mile 10, you can cross a bridge and do a short twisty climb up to a lake and campground with a cold water spigot.
May 28, 2022
difficulty: Challenging
scenery: 4
traffic: 4
road: 4
May 28, 2022
scenery: 4
traffic: 4
road: 4
Really enjoyed this climb. The start is along a running stream and at a reasonable grade. The end is pretty tough and a very daunting task to finish with.
Apr 11, 2021
difficulty: Challenging
scenery: 4
traffic: 4
road: 4
Apr 11, 2021
scenery: 4
traffic: 4
road: 4
153 is a big climb, long and to high altitude. Shallow initial section lets you get warmed up and then some switchbacks give it an alpine feel. Many different looks on this one and it finishes with double digit grade among big aspens.
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CLIMB SUMMARY

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Cycling Hwy 153 up to Eagle Point Ski Resort - a Top 100 US Bike Climb.

Ride 18 miles gaining 4,530’ to elevation 10,308 at 4.5% average grade.

This climb begins just east of Beaver, UT (a small town of about 3,000) and ends on Elk Meadows Dr at Eagle Point Ski Resort.  If coming from Salt Lake City, this is the first of the 3 southern Utah Top 100 Climbs (37 miles north of #36 Hwy 143 and 102 miles north of #75 Kolob Terrace).

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Begin climb in Beaver - southwest Utah (pop. 3,112 in 2010; elevation 5,902’)

 The first 5 miles of the climb are very mild (510' @ 1.8%) while the final 13 miles average 5.5% and the last mile on Elk Meadows Drive averages 8.7%.  We enter Fishlake National Forest at mile 2.3 and remain in this park for the remainder of the ride (no fee for entry).

Fishlake National Forest (est 1908 by Teddy Roosevelt; 1,461,226 acres).

After the first couple of miles we are surrounded by forest and follow a canyon up the mountain.  There are also some great views of rock formations as we occasionally ride beside or in sight of the Beaver River.  This is a beautiful and scenic ride as can be seen from our YouTube playlistof the climb.  

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We are surrounded by thick forest and rock formations much of the climb.

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View down from 10 miles

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8th of 10 top 100 Climbs on our 2014 Utah cycling trip.

 

Steepest ¼ mile begins at mile 14.5 (11.5%) and steepest mile at 16.3 (9.6%)

Traffic and Roadway report:  As of August, 2014, the roadway surface was very good, but there is minimal shoulder although there is also minimal traffic along the route.

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