Big Basin Highway · Hwy 236
A narrow forest loop through Big Basin country. Check Caltrans and park access updates before planning a through-drive.
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Road shape
- Length
- 17.5 mi
- Bends
- 134
- Switchbacks
- 19
- Bends per mile
- 7.7
- Turning per mile
- 791°
- Curviest rank
- 20of 85
Measured from the OpenStreetMap centreline at a 20 m sampling step — road shape only, not a safety or speed judgement. How bends are counted.
Elevation
- Total climb
- 3,385ft
- Climb per mile
- 193ft
- Highest point
- 1,963ft
- Steepest grade
- 6.1%
Sampled every 100 m from USGS 10 m elevation data, a public-domain federal dataset. Total climb counts vertical change in both directions, so it does not depend on which way you drive. How elevation is measured.
Speed limits
Varies
Unverified
Check posted signs along the road.
No reliable posted limit was found for this road. Check signs along the route.
Posted signs always govern. How speed evidence is handled.
Sources
Difficulty 3/3 (Demanding) is our editorial rating of width, bends and sightlines; “Technical” describes character, not a target speed. Full method. Identified from:
- r/bayarea · Favorite driving roads ↗
- OpenStreetMap road data ↗ (17 ways in this trace)
Reviewed 2026-09-08. The trace shows selected road sections, not a navigation route.