Mines Road from Livermore
A long, remote backroad south of Livermore, mixing open valleys with narrow, winding sections.
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Planning the drive
Mines Road heads into the backcountry south of Livermore, with open valley stretches and narrower, winding sections. The San Antonio Valley Road and Del Puerto Canyon Road junction is the useful route-planning landmark at the far end. The county’s Mines Road repair information also uses that junction to locate work along the road. Santa Clara County: Mines Road and its southern junction
Decide whether you want an out-and-back on Mines or a longer outing through San Antonio Valley toward Mount Hamilton. The latter adds more mountain road beyond the length shown here. The linked guide covers that sequence to Lick Observatory; check the observatory’s visitor information separately if it is your destination.
Roads to connect
- San Antonio Valley RoadThe next road south for the Mount Hamilton outing.
- Mount Hamilton RoadReached via San Antonio Valley on the longer observatory drive, not directly from Mines.
Full route: Mines Road to Lick Observatory →
Driving notes updated .
Road shape
- Length
- 27.9 mi
- Bends
- 168
- Switchbacks
- 9
- Bends per mile
- 6
- Turning per mile
- 570°
- Curviest rank
- 55of 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
- 3,667ft
- Climb per mile
- 131ft
- Highest point
- 2,889ft
- Steepest grade
- 6.5%
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 · Marin driving roads
- Driver’s Guide · Regional road directory
- OpenStreetMap road data (52 ways in this trace)
Reviewed 2026-09-08. The trace shows selected road sections, not a navigation route.
Drives that include this road
Roads nearby
Distances are approximate straight lines between road centers, not driving distances or direct connections.