California Touge.Best driving roads in California

Felton Empire Road

The short, steep climb out of Felton up to Empire Grade.

TechnicalDifficulty 3/3 · DemandingSanta Cruz Mountains

Road shape

Length
3.7 mi
Bends
25
Switchbacks
3
Bends per mile
6.7
Turning per mile
715°
Curviest rank
34of 121

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

Low 289 ft3.7 miHigh 1,817 ft
Total climb
1,505ft
Climb per mile
407ft
Highest point
1,811ft
Steepest grade
10.6%

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 posted limit has been verified for this selected section. Follow current signs.

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:

Reviewed 2026-09-09. The trace shows selected road sections, not a navigation route.

Roads nearby

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