Ride from the historica Claremont Hotel to Grizzly Peaks vista point.

Cycling to Grizzly Peak from Claremont, California

Ride 3.6 miles gaining 1,320’ at 6.8% average grade.

This climb is all about the start: you begin at the historic Claremont Hotel and are soon met with a very steep grade.  After a three-quarter mile warm up at 6.8% we ride a full mile at 11.2% (one quarter of that mile averages 13%).

Ride on Claremont Ave for two miles at 9.2% to Summit Pass and Grizzly Peak Boulevard.

The final 1.6 miles averages 4%.

This climb begins in the Claremont neighborhood between Berkeley and Oakland.  Claremont originated in 1879 and soon thereafter Telegraph Avenue (named after the first telegraph line in Oakland) was renamed Claremont Avenue. The climb begins adjacent the historic Claremont Hotel.

Claremont Hotel

Photo:  Oakland California

We pass a handsome grove of Australian Eucalyptus trees at mile 2.3.

In the early 1900’s capitalist and Berkeley resident Frank Colton Havens’ Mahogany Eucalyptus and Land Company  began a eucalyptus farm and planted trees along 14 miles of the Berkeley-Oakland ridgeline (estimated at over 1,000,000 trees).  The trees were planted in expectation of a lumber shortage, but, two problems:  (1) the shortage never materialized and (2) it turned out eucalyptus is not suitable as a building material -- you’d think he would have figured that out a bit shy of 1m trees...??

Tilden South Gate and Pacific Railway is a 15” gauge 1¼ mile railway using 5” scale equipment with rides lasting roughly 12 minutes. As of 2018 ticket prices were $3 (children under 2 ride for free).

Photos:  Steve Hadley, Walnut Creek

Trifecta at Grizzly Peak.