Road Ride Review: Montezuma Grade/Yaqui Pass Loop

You just know that any ride that starts with a 3400' climb is going to be tough and this one doesn't disappoint.

Montezuma Grade/Yaqui Pass Loop

Montezuma Grade starts in the desert town of Borrego Springs and climbs foe 10.7 miles up to the small town of Ranchita. The entire climb is in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park which is one of the largest state parks in the country showcasing the beautiful low desert of Southern California.

Store at Ranchita

The initial climb is tough. I watched the grade and it seemed to stay between 6-8% for the majority of the climb. I never saw it go above 9% or drop below 4% the whole way so it is pretty relentless. The climb is listed as the 60th hardest in California which has some pretty stiff climbs.

Once you get to the top, you are in for a lot of downhill riding with two small climbs at San Felipe Pass and Yaqui Pass (cat 4). The rest of the ride is pretty much downhill the whole way.

San Felipe road has a good shoulder for the whole way although the pavement is not the best I've seen. Once you turn on the 78, things get a little interesting as the road is pretty narrow as you drop through some tight turns for a few miles until you get to Yaqui Pass Road.

I would not recommend this section on a Friday or Saturday as you would have a lot of off-roader traffic heading to Ocotillo Wells. Motorhomes and trailers pulled by throttle jockeys are usually not a cyclists best friend on narrow roads.

After the short climb to Yaqui Pass, it's just a long downhill back to Borrego Springs where there are plenty of restaurants to hit up for some post-ride grub.

The route logs in at just over 50 miles with 4400' of climbing. I managed to get around in just over three hours.