Lookout Mountain
Climb · Colorado
Checked
part of: The test climbs of the pros
Lookout Mountain is a 7.3 km cycling climb averaging 5.2% (+386 m), rising from 1850 m to 2235 m in Colorado.
7.3 km · +386 m · 5.2% avg · ~8.2% max · 1850 → 2235 m · 8 hairpins
Stats computed from OpenStreetMap and satellite elevation data — approximate.
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Gradient by colour: ● <3% ● 3–6% ● 6–9% ● 9%+
Where it bites
Steepest 500 m: 8.2% (km 5.6–6.1).
| km | to | avg |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1902 m | 5.4% |
| 2 | 1966 m | 6.4% |
| 3 | 2016 m | 5.1% |
| 4 | 2067 m | 4.8% |
| 5 | 2122 m | 6.0% |
| 6 | 2190 m | 6.6% |
| 7 | 2230 m | 4.1% |
What it’s like to ride
Lookout Mountain is America's everyman benchmark: by 2020 the timed segment above Golden had logged nearly 220,000 attempts by more than 22,000 riders, more than any other climb in the country. The run goes from the stone pillars at the hairpin above 19th Street to the entrance of the Buffalo Bill grave road, 7.3 km at a steady five percent on a road built for exactly this kind of measuring. Denver's Front Range riders treat a personal best here the way club runners treat the mile.
History
The record is contested lore: roughly sixteen minutes flat, attributed to Tom Danielson or Jonathan Vaughters depending on who tells it. Phil Gaimon came for it after retiring, rode 16:16 in 2017, then returned in April 2018 and had the attempt wrecked by wind. The climb hosted stages of the Coors Classic era's racing scene around Golden, but its real institution is the daily one: locals timing themselves against the pillars, year round.
More climbs in Colorado
Common questions
- How long and steep is Lookout Mountain?
- Lookout Mountain is a 7.3 km cycling climb averaging 5.2% (+386 m), rising from 1850 m to 2235 m in Colorado.
- Where is Lookout Mountain steepest?
- The steepest 500 m averages 8.2%, between km 5.6 and km 6.1 of the climb.
- How many hairpins does Lookout Mountain have?
- Lookout Mountain has 8 hairpin bends, counted from the road's map geometry (a hairpin here means at least 150 degrees of turning completed within 150 metres of road). Painted corner numbers on some climbs count gentler bends too, so the two figures can differ.