Mt. Hamilton
San Jose / Diablo Range · near San Jose · SF Bay Area
Road Cycling
At a glance
- Distance
- long
- Best season
- Spring & fall; can be hot in summer, cold/icy up top in winter
What is here
- Scenery
- mountain
- Amenities
- Lick Observatory at the summit · Sweeping Silicon Valley & Diablo Range views · Steady, achievable grade · Classic Bay Area rite of passage
- Best for
- A long, steady marquee climb
- Features
- The Bay Area's biggest climb · Lick Observatory domes at the top · Famously steady, non-brutal grade · Endless Diablo Range views
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Narrow, winding road — descend with control · Limited services — carry water & food · Hot valley in summer; cold/possible ice up top · Some traffic on weekends near the observatory
- Beginner friendly
- No
Road Cycling detail
- Ride types
- climb
- Road
- quiet
- Climbing
- 5
- Ride notes
- The Bay Area's biggest paved climb — a long, gradual ascent of Mt. Hamilton Road from San Jose to the white domes of Lick Observatory, with sweeping views over Silicon Valley and the Diablo Range and a famously mellow, steady grade
- Stats note
- ~19 mi, ~4,400 ft gain to 4,213 ft summit; steady grade with two brief descents
- Seasonal
- No
- Intl tip
- The Bay Area's biggest paved climb — a ~19-mile, ~4,400 ft ascent from San Jose to Lick Observatory (4,213 ft), famous for a steady, non-brutal grade (with two short descents en route) and sweeping Silicon Valley and Diablo Range views. A local rite of passage: long and demanding but never viciously steep. Narrow winding road — descend with control; minimal services, so carry water and food. Hot valley in summer, cold/icy up top in winter — spring and fall are best.
The guide
Mt. Hamilton, rising above San Jose to the historic white domes of Lick Observatory at 4,213 feet, is the Bay Area's biggest an…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Mt. Hamilton — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.3416, -121.6427