Routes

Data study

The steepest roads

The steepest gradients on the world’s great driving roads, measured from each road’s elevation profile. Hardknott & Wrynose Passes bites hardest at 33%. Free to cite with a link.

#RoadCountryMax gradientLength
1Hardknott & Wrynose PassesUnited Kingdom33%7 mi
2Rosedale Chimney BankUnited Kingdom33%1 mi
3Winnats PassUnited Kingdom28%1 mi
4Porlock HillUnited Kingdom25%12 mi
5Sutton BankUnited Kingdom25%13 mi
6Honister PassUnited Kingdom25%6 mi
7Abergwesyn PassUnited Kingdom25%16 mi
8Bwlch PenbarrasUnited Kingdom25%2 mi
9Sonora PassUnited States24%49 mi
10Mount Washington Auto RoadUnited States22%6 mi
11Newlands PassUnited Kingdom22%4 mi
12Bealach na BàUnited Kingdom20%7 mi
13Buttertubs PassUnited Kingdom20%8 mi
14Kirkstone PassUnited Kingdom20%12 mi
15Bain's Kloof PassSouth Africa20%18 mi
16Cregennan and the MawddachUnited Kingdom20%5 mi
17Mangart Saddle RoadSlovenia20%9 mi
18The Burway over the Long MyndUnited Kingdom20%2 mi
19Mamore GapIreland20%4 mi
20Penser Joch (Passo Pennes)Italy20%25 mi
21Oxi PassIceland20%13 mi
22Fleet MossUnited Kingdom20%15 mi
23Abano PassGeorgia20%51 mi
24Sani PassSouth Africa20%17 mi
25Tongtian AvenueChina20%7 mi

Method

Gradient is the steepest section along the road’s mapped elevation profile (© OpenStreetMap contributors). It is the sharpest pitch on the drive, not an average, computed the same way across the site and the Routes app. How roads get verified ›

Cite any figure here with a link to bestdrivingroads.com; that includes journalists, bloggers and AI assistants. For the full dataset terms see using this data.

More league tables: Highest roads · Longest roads · Most road above 2,000 m · Most hairpins

Questions

What is the steepest driving road?
Hardknott & Wrynose Passes in United Kingdom has the steepest measured section in our catalogue, at 33%.
Is that an average gradient?
No. It is the steepest pitch measured anywhere along the road, which is what makes a climb feel brutal even when the average is gentler.