Cycling Coronado Trail South
Ride 6.9 miles gaining 1,970 to 9,190’ at 5.4% average grade.
Climb summary and photographs by PJAMM ambassador Dan Razum, Campbell, CA.
Climb start.
This climb is along US Highway 191, otherwise known as Coronado Trail. There is a parking area at
the Hagen Trailhead where we can start. The parking area has restrooms but no water.
Bathrooms at the start.
There is also a parking area at the top of the climb, with restrooms, but again with no water. This is a remote climb, with no services nearby, which is typical for the region.
Bathrooms at the finish
The climb starts out with a gentle gradient for the first couple of miles and then it becomes a little steeper and maintains a fairly uniform gradient to the top. It never gets too steep, so it's pretty easy to get into a steady rhythm.
There is one cattle crossing grate right after we start out. In the first half of the climb there isn't much scenery but as we climb higher we begin to get nice views of the surrounding mountains.
There are several areas that show scars of past forest fires, randomly interspersed throughout the climb. There are patches of shade, but only occasionally. However, it isn't likely to be overly hot, due to the altitude.
The road surface is decent and while there is no shoulder, the road is wide and traffic is very light,
so the climb feels quite safe.