longest steepest climbs in Calgary

[Boosted131]

Within city limits, where are the best places to climb the most elevation, in the shortest amount of time?

[Mitsu3000gt]

Ride up 14th st NW a bunch of times? That hill is pretty brutal.

[austic]

The COP hill road laps seem to be pretty popular

[ganesh]

Edworthy Parking lot hill

[benyl]

This is a 131m climb in under 3kms that I used to do on the way home all the time.

https://goo.gl/maps/zkVpfCib4yt

I like it because the first part is long, then a flat rest, then up, then flat, then up, then flat and up again. Gives you time to take a breather. haha.

[Boosted131]

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The COP hill road laps seem to be pretty popular

Where is the lap? I just see Canada olympic park road windy road.

[speedog]

For pure steepness you won't beat the paved alley south of 2nd Avenue NE between 2nd and 3rd Streets NE - 30% grade at some points. 4A Street NE north of 4th Avenue NE is quite steep as well and there's also the 19th and 53rd Street NW hills as well.

[ExtraSlow]

I'm not a cyclist, but 14th street from north mount is a good hill for getting fitbit stairs!

Too bad you couldn't ride stony from Bowness to beacon heights. That's a long hill.

[Boosted131]

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For pure steepness you won't beat the paved alley south of 2nd Avenue NE between 2nd and 3rd Streets NE - 30% grade at some points. 4A Street NE north of 4th Avenue NE is quite steep as well and there's also the 19th and 53rd Street NW hills as well.

I've been to this one before, sure is steep as I was under 10 kmh climbing it ! Too bad it's not a bit longer

[rage2]

Home Road has always been my arch nemesis, takes me a solid month of riding to get in decent enough shape to climb up there without struggling or stopping. Short, but steep as fuck. No clue what the grade is, but it makes that Edworthy parking lot up to Sarcee Trail feel easy. There's another small tough stretch on the west side of Bow River Pathway that's 4x longer and as steep as Home Road. It's around the SW edge of Silver Springs.

[Penguin_Racecar]

If you're looking to do repeats - COP or Edworthy without a doubt. Both can have some traffic you'll catch up to on the downhill but if you pick a non-busy time they're both great. COP would be the best - fast descent and the hill is pretty much the same grade the whole way. It also gains more elevation than Edworthy.
Edworthy has three sections - steepish at the beginning, then a recovery section, then another steepish section. Might work better for you if you need the recovery after the 10% kick at the beginning.

Another good one for repeats that will have no cars on it is this one: https://www.strava.com/segments/2004113
You can turn around at the road crossing instead of doing the last part of the segment, making it safer for repeats.

Let's have a hill repeat party?

- - - Updated - - -

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Home Road has always been my arch nemesis, takes me a solid month of riding to get in decent enough shape to climb up there without struggling or stopping. Short, but steep as fuck. No clue what the grade is, but it makes that Edworthy parking lot up to Sarcee Trail feel easy. There's another small tough stretch on the west side of Bow River Pathway that's 4x longer and as steep as Home Road. It's around the SW edge of Silver Springs.

https://www.strava.com/segments/7107280

You're talking about the 15% bit at the end. It's a good lungbuster alright.

[Boosted131]

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Home Road has always been my arch nemesis, takes me a solid month of riding to get in decent enough shape to climb up there without struggling or stopping. Short, but steep as fuck. No clue what the grade is, but it makes that Edworthy parking lot up to Sarcee Trail feel easy. There's another small tough stretch on the west side of Bow River Pathway that's 4x longer and as steep as Home Road. It's around the SW edge of Silver Springs.

home road was a 20 kmh climb on the ebikes when we first started. Bet I could do 25-30kmh up it now

[rage2]

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https://www.strava.com/segments/7107280

You're talking about the 15% bit at the end. It's a good lungbuster alright.

No, further west. It terminates at Silver Crest Drive IIRC. Been years since I've ridden there.

[lilmira]

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Another good one for repeats that will have no cars on it is this one: https://www.strava.com/segments/2004113

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No, further west. It terminates at Silver Crest Drive IIRC. Been years since I've ridden there.

That's probably the one you are talking about. It may not be as steep but it does get you to higher elevation.


COP switchback is probably the top in the city considering average grade and distance.

[Xtrema]

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This is a 131m climb in under 3kms that I used to do on the way home all the time.

https://goo.gl/maps/zkVpfCib4yt

I like it because the first part is long, then a flat rest, then up, then flat, then up, then flat and up again. Gives you time to take a breather. haha.

To understand the Bowmont bike path, take the steepest part of Home Road and imagine it is 3 times longer with some steeper sections.

That sounds like 3 Home Road Humps with breaks in between. Damn.

[CLiVE]

I ride 10th street/Cambrian to 14th street, then up Nose Hill to Edgemont every day. ~14km. Pretty much all climbing. Often stop and do 3-6 repeats of the Nosehill switchback from the John Laurie parking lot up.

[msommers]

The quarry road trail east entrance up to 17th ave is nice and can be really steep if you take 24th street. Not busy too. Edworthy Park is nice later at night but otherwise way too much traffic and people rip around there.

[GT.....O?]

Surprised no one has mentioned this one yet..... might not be as steep as some others, but long and a big elevation gain for inside city limits...

https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/51.14...!3e1!5i1?hl=en

not to mention most if it is pathway/non-pavement

edit;

added another,

https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/51.08...1687!3e1?hl=en

also, can use this if you want to plan your own/see whats closest to you.

http://en-ca.topographic-map.com/places/Calgary-566087/

[sneek]

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Surprised no one has mentioned this one yet..... might not be as steep as some others, but long and a big elevation gain for inside city limits...


added another,

https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/51.08...1687!3e1?hl=en

[/url]

This was pretty much my commute to and from work for a few years. Sub 15 mins riding to work and a brutal 30 minutes riding home. LOL the first time I rode this route it took me 90 minutes with plenty of stopping to die.