Little Tujunga Canyon Road: Bear Divide
The canyon climb north from the San Fernando Valley over Bear Divide toward Sand Canyon.
Loading map…
Southern section only. Check access before continuing beyond Bear Divide toward Sand Canyon. Check current access · Reviewed 2026-09-09
Planning the drive
Little Tujunga climbs from the San Fernando Valley over Bear Divide with 74 counted bends and 16 switchbacks across 10.8 miles — the road gains most of its 271 ft-per-mile average climb in short bursts rather than evenly, so the switchback sections come in concentrated stretches. Armco guardrail covers many corners but not all of them, and the drop-offs beside the road are real; sand and hillside debris collect in corners after rain. It's well used by motorcyclists on weekends, so expect company.
Roads to connect
- Big Tujunga Canyon RoadThe other Tujunga canyon road, reached via Big Tujunga Canyon Road to the east.
Driving notes updated .
Road shape
- Length
- 10.8 mi
- Bends
- 74
- Switchbacks
- 16
- Bends per mile
- 6.9
- Turning per mile
- 739°
- Curviest rank
- 36of 168
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
- 2,928ft
- Climb per mile
- 271ft
- Highest point
- 2,732ft
- Steepest grade
- 8.3%
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
No posted limit has been verified for this selected section. Follow current signs.
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:
- Reddit, r/Touge · Attention all who live in and around Los Angeles
- Reddit, r/socalbirding · Bear Divide is popping off
- OpenStreetMap road data (10 ways in this trace)
Reviewed 2026-09-09. The trace shows selected road sections, not a navigation route.
Roads nearby
Distances are approximate straight lines between road centers, not driving distances or direct connections.