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San Bernardino Mountains – Valley of the Falls – CA-38 (State Route 38) to Forest Falls Hill Climb

Posted: August 6, 2010 at 5:06 am | Tags: CA-38, Forest Falls, Mentone, Redlands, SR-38, Valley of the Falls Dr

4,279 ft elevation gain

14.5 miles in length

5.6% average grade

If you start in Mentone, those are the stats. That is definitely a solid climb. You can also cut off a few miles of somewhat boring climbing and start at the intersection of 38 (Mill Creek Rd) and Bryant. If you do this, you will miss almost 900 feet of shallow climbing. With that said, the climbing you will miss is nothing special. So, if you are going for overall climbing, start in Mentone. If you are going for scenic climbing, start at 38/Bryant. Additionally, if you start at 38/Bryant, your average grade will be 6.3% for over 10 miles. Not bad. The rest of this post assumes a starting point at 38/Bryant.

The initial section of 38 (above Bryant) has a minimal shoulder:

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

Given the relatively steady traffic, this is the only somewhat unpleasant section. Luckily, the shoulders open up pretty quickly for the rest of the ride:

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

The rest of the ride along 38 is a very scenic ride up a valley with few curves:

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

The traffic, while not heavy, is relatively constant and somewhat fast. The wide shoulder for most of 38, however, makes this section surprisingly pleasant.

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

The grade is, for the most part, extremely steady and relatively shallow. While I love steep climbs, it is also nice to be able to shift up a few gears and power on at more than 6 mph at times! And, of course, some pleasant scenery doesn’t hurt.

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

Awesome valley to be riding up!

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

4,000 feet in elevation!

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

Beautiful.

This last stretch along 38 includes a little bump up with regard to the grade…nothing steep, but just enough for you to notice after such a constant grade. Shortly, you come to the only big switchback along 38 that you will encounter:

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

From this point:

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

You can stay left to stay on 38 and climb to Angelus Oaks (a solid climb) and even climb all the way to Onyx Summit (8,443 ft elevation!). Or, you can turn right and climb up Valley of the Falls Dr to Forest Falls (as I did). The climb up Valley of the Falls Dr is significantly tougher than the last stretch along 38. Averaging over 6.8% for nearly 4.5 miles (and ~1600 ft of elevation gain), Valley of the Falls is a challenging climb. Thankfully, the climb starts out mellow after the turnoff from 38:

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

Of course, maybe that is not so fortunate since that means the rest of the climb has to be steeper..

Pretty quickly, you hit the Welcome to Forest Falls sign:

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

This is a bit deceptive, as you are far from hitting 5700 feet in elevation. Keep on climbing (now through steeper stuff), and you hit the Forest Home community:

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

Note that the trees provide much more shade along this stretch..and for most all of Valley of the Falls Dr. Pleasant on a hot day.

Continue climbing and you finally get to the outskirts of Forest Falls itself. The cute post office:

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

And Fire Station:

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

At this point, after having dealt with some steep sections, you finally get a well-earned descent into the heart of Forest Falls:

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

Brief, but deserved! This heart of Forest Falls will be a welcome oasis to all hill climbing cyclists…there is both a Mexican restaurant and a general store here!

The Mexican restaurant (El Mexicano):

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

The reviews on yelp are decent. The general store should also be able to provide you with nourishment:

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

Continuing on from this point, the road soon turns to a one lane road:

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

And climbs into the Falls Recreation Area:

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

This area was quite popular:

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

There are also some larger falls upstream a bit if you hike to them (search for Big Falls).

Anyway, the cycling up this last section puts 38 to shame. Some of the ramps along here will definitely get your attention. The middle 2.3 miles of this climb average over 7.4%…definitely not too shabby. And, considering that this grade is not consistent and that there are some steeper sections thrown in, you will work a bit. With all that said, this climb also isn’t ridiculously tough, so hopefully you can enjoy the challenge and the scenery at the same time.

The descent down is pretty nice as well. Initially, you will have have to watch your speed, as there are a lot of side streets. However, about 1.5 miles down, you get to really let it fly – 35-45 mph should be easily doable. Of course, you will all too quickly hit 38 and slow down a bit.

From 2010-07-11 – San Bernardino Mountains Cycling – 38 to Forest Falls

Pedal a bit, though, and you can still maintain 30+ for the rest of the descent (and 35+ for much of it). This is definitely a pedal-assisted descent if you want to keep your speeds up.

And, the whole route from the intersection of 38 and Bryant (remember, you can also start 900 feet lower in Mentone if you want some more climbing):

And, just the Valley of the Falls Dr section:

Click View Elevation for the above section. Definitely not a bad climb.

My GarminConnect page for the ride:

Anyway, this is a great climb to tackle if you are near the Redlands area. The section along 38 is consistent and mellow and offers a nice warm-up before tackling the steeper, tougher, but not overly ridiculous climb up to Forest Falls. One solid climb.