Highway 9 · Back Side
The back side of Highway 9: from Saratoga Gap down through the redwoods to Boulder Creek and the San Lorenzo Valley toward Santa Cruz, with slower village sections.
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Road shape
- Length
- 27 mi
- Bends
- 111
- Switchbacks
- 13
- Bends per mile
- 4.1
- Turning per mile
- 430°
- Curviest rank
- 50of 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
- 3,739ft
- Climb per mile
- 138ft
- Highest point
- 2,632ft
- Steepest grade
- 6.4%
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
25–55 mph
Mapped limits
Approximate guide; limits vary by section. Follow posted signs.
OpenStreetMap tags cover approximately 85% of the full Highway 9 trace, of which this is one half. These values have not been checked against current signs.
Posted signs always govern. How speed evidence is handled.
Sources
Difficulty 2/3 (Winding) is our editorial rating of width, bends and sightlines; “Medium speed” describes character, not a target speed. Full method. Identified from:
- r/Touge · Bay Area drives ↗
- r/bayarea · Favorite driving roads ↗
- OpenStreetMap road data ↗ (ways for the full route, of which this is one half)
Reviewed 2026-09-08. The trace shows selected road sections, not a navigation route.