bestdrivingroads.com

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 KingdomUnited Kingdom33%7 mi
2Rosedale Chimney BankUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom33%1 mi
3Winnats PassUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom28%1 mi
4Kallikratis SerpentinesGreeceGreece27%12 mi
5Porlock HillUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom25%12 mi
6Sutton BankUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom25%13 mi
7Honister PassUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom25%6 mi
8Abergwesyn PassUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom25%16 mi
9Newlands PassUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom25%4 mi
10Bwlch PenbarrasUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom25%2 mi
11Sonora PassUnited StatesUnited States24%49 mi
12Mount Washington Auto RoadUnited StatesUnited States22%6 mi
13Bealach na BàUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom20%7 mi
14Buttertubs PassUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom20%8 mi
15Kirkstone PassUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom20%12 mi
16Bain’s Kloof PassSouth AfricaSouth Africa20%18 mi
17Mangart Saddle RoadSloveniaSlovenia20%10 mi
18The Burway over the Long MyndUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom20%2 mi
19Mamore GapIrelandIreland20%4 mi
20Penser Joch (Passo Pennes)ItalyItaly20%25 mi
21Oxi PassIcelandIceland20%13 mi
22Fleet MossUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom20%15 mi
23Abano PassGeorgiaGeorgia20%51 mi
24Sani PassSouth AfricaSouth Africa20%17 mi
25Tongtian AvenueChinaChina20%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.