Lincoln Gap Road (east side)
6586.0 m · net rise 451.7 m · total ascent 469.4 m · overall 6.9% · confidence: good · Vermont · share
Shape: stepped — 56% of the climbing sits in a quarter of the distance; longest continuous stretch at 10%+ is 656 m.
Matches: Cycling folklore / national press — Widely cited as the steepest paved mile in the United States.
≈ Overhead cover (tree canopy or structures) spans 33% of this route — detected by comparing the surface model (DSM, treetops and rooftops) against the terrain model (DTM, bare ground). Under cover the bare-ground model is built from fewer laser returns, so metre-scale readings can wobble; maxima whose window sits in a covered zone are marked ≈ below — less certain — the flag does not say whether the true value is higher or lower. Longer windows average over more clean ground and are steadier.
Gradient ladder what do windows mean?
| Window | Maximum | Located at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 m (diagnostic) | ≈23% | 5060–5062 m | under overhead cover |
| 3 m (diagnostic) | ≈22% | 6040–6043 m | under overhead cover |
| 5 m | ≈22% | 6037–6042 m | under overhead cover |
| 10 m | ≈22% | 6033–6043 m | under overhead cover |
| 20 m | ≈21.4% | 6023–6043 m | under overhead cover |
| 25 m | ≈21.3% | 6019–6044 m | under overhead cover |
| 50 m | ≈21.0% | 6013–6063 m | under overhead cover |
| 100 m | ≈20.4% | 5982–6082 m | under overhead cover |
Map
Check this route yourself: Google Maps route via their router · Street View at the base where coverage exists · OSM way 1314047843 highlights the mapped road · geojson.io our exact measured line · OpenTopoMap
This climb's data: OCL JSON — the full gradient ladder, quality flags and provenance in the OpenClimb Ladder format.
Measured, not vetted. This page records what the laser record shows about the road's shape — nothing more. Nobody has necessarily ridden or inspected this road for the survey, and a page here is not a recommendation and no guarantee that the road is open, surfaced, rideable or safe. Gates, private sections, missing rights of way and hazards do not show up in elevation data. Check access and conditions on the ground and make your own judgment.
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© OpenStreetMap contributors · topo tiles © OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA) · vector tiles OpenFreeMap
Profile
Reported values vs. measurement
| Source | Claim | Evidence | Best-matching window |
|---|---|---|---|
| US cycling press / folklore | 16% | other | 100 m (-4.4 pp) |
| US cycling press (short-pitch claims) | 24% | other | 2 m (+1.0 pp) |
Provenance
{
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"interpolation": "bilinear",
"smoothing": "none",
"gradient_windows_m": [
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],
"diagnostic_windows_m": [
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"elevation_crs": "EPSG:26918",
"elevation_resolution_m": 1.0,
"elevation_tiles": [
"data/cache/usa/vt/USGS_1M_18_x66y489_VT_Statewide_A23.tif",
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],
"calculated_at": "2026-08-22T09:28:17+00:00",
"road_source": "OpenStreetMap (local PBF extract)",
"road_attribution": "\u00a9 OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL",
"osm_ids": [
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"osm_timestamps": {
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},
"osm_retrieved_at": "2026-08-22T09:27:32+00:00",
"osm_pbf_path": "data/cache/pbf/vermont-260821.osm.pbf",
"osm_snapshot": "2026-08-21T20:21:11Z",
"elevation_provider": "USGS 3DEP (The National Map)",
"elevation_licence": "Public domain \u2014 USGS 3DEP 1 m DEM, courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey",
"elevation_dataset": "USGS 3DEP 1 m DEM, VT_Statewide_A23 (collected 2023)",
"elevation_tile_ids": [
"x66y489",
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],
"route_summit_trim_m": 860.1,
"route_summit_trim_loss_m": 127.8,
"climb_origin": "named",
"notes": "\"Steepest paved mile in America\" folklore; golden-test anchor (the golden fixture pins the top 1,910 m paved section and is unaffected by extent). Full climb from Warren village per Peter 2026-08-22: lower 3,981 m asphalt + 1,447 m compacted (VTrans: Paved/Gravel) before the paved top \u2014 mixed-surface label, unranked per settled policy. Seasonal closure Oct 15-May 15.",
"canopy_source": {
"kind": "ept_corridor_max_return",
"ept_source": "https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/usgs-lidar-public/VT_Statewide_2_A23",
"ept_crs": "EPSG:3857",
"station_coverage": 1.0,
"cell_ground_m": 1.0,
"nodes_failed": 0
},
"license": "ODbL-1.0",
"license_url": "https://howsteep.org/licensing.html"
}