Climbs
Northern Illinois is flat, so the bar for a climb here is low and that is the point — these are what there is, measured properly rather than argued about. Everything below is within about 165 miles of Chicago.
Barrington Hillsabout 40 miles from the Loop · the classic NW suburbs loop
Spring Creek Road
minor road · 30 mph/25 mph- Length
- 200 m
- Gain
- 50 ft
- Average
- 7.6%
- Steepest
- 8.2%
- Time
- 1:10
- VAM
- 777 m/h
Tops out at 850 ft · foot of the climb
Oak Knoll Road
quiet street · 25 mph- Length
- 275 m
- Gain
- 57 ft
- Average
- 6.4%
- Steepest
- 10.7%
- Time
- 1:23
- VAM
- 757 m/h
Tops out at 827 ft · foot of the climb
Ridge Road
minor road/quiet street · 25 mph- Length
- 200 m
- Gain
- 41 ft
- Average
- 6.2%
- Steepest
- 9.2%
- Time
- 0:59
- VAM
- 763 m/h
Tops out at 827 ft · foot of the climb
Braeburn Road
quiet street- Length
- 725 m
- Gain
- 115 ft
- Average
- 4.8%
- Steepest
- 10.7%
- Time
- 2:56
- VAM
- 716 m/h
Tops out at 863 ft · foot of the climb
Cary & Fox River Groveabout 45 miles from the Loop · Fox River valley, McHenry County
Heather Drive + Cary Road
quiet street/minor road · 30 mph- Length
- 350 m
- Gain
- 88 ft
- Average
- 7.6%
- Steepest
- 15.4%
- Time
- 2:02
- VAM
- 785 m/h
Tops out at 876 ft · foot of the climb
Blackhawk Trail
quiet street · 25 mph- Length
- 450 m
- Gain
- 109 ft
- Average
- 7.4%
- Steepest
- 10.3%
- Time
- 2:34
- VAM
- 779 m/h
Tops out at 853 ft · foot of the climb
Cary Road
minor road · 30 mph/45 mph/40 mph- Length
- 200 m
- Gain
- 30 ft
- Average
- 4.5%
- Steepest
- 5.4%
- Time
- 0:46
- VAM
- 708 m/h
Tops out at 863 ft · foot of the climb
Blue Mounds, WIabout 150 miles from the Loop · southern Wisconsin Driftless
Pinnacle Road
quiet street- Length
- 800 m
- Gain
- 293 ft
- Average
- 11.2%
- Steepest
- 15.2%
- Time
- 6:36
- VAM
- 811 m/h
Tops out at 1132 ft · foot of the climb
Mounds Park Road
minor road · 35 mph- Length
- 1300 m
- Gain
- 439 ft
- Average
- 10.3%
- Steepest
- 13.9%
- Time
- 9:56
- VAM
- 808 m/h
Tops out at 1421 ft · foot of the climb
Jo Daviess Countyabout 165 miles from the Loop · Galena, the Driftless edge
South Blackjack Road
main road- Length
- 975 m
- Gain
- 334 ft
- Average
- 10.4%
- Steepest
- 14.3%
- Time
- 7:31
- VAM
- 812 m/h
Tops out at 1040 ft · foot of the climb
West Council Hill Road
quiet street/main road · 35 mph- Length
- 575 m
- Gain
- 156 ft
- Average
- 8.3%
- Steepest
- 10.9%
- Time
- 3:37
- VAM
- 791 m/h
Tops out at 853 ft · foot of the climb
North Blackjack Road
main road · 45 mph- Length
- 1275 m
- Gain
- 212 ft
- Average
- 5.1%
- Steepest
- 10.1%
- Time
- 5:23
- VAM
- 721 m/h
Tops out at 906 ft · foot of the climb
North Council Hill Road
main road · 30 mph- Length
- 2800 m
- Gain
- 250 ft
- Average
- 2.7%
- Steepest
- 10%
- Time
- 8:02
- VAM
- 569 m/h
Tops out at 879 ft · foot of the climb
How these were measured
Road geometry from OpenStreetMap, elevation from the USGS 10 m dataset, sampled every 25 m. The method was checked against a known point before anything else — Rockford came back 716 ft against about 720 ft published — and the Barrington Hills figures agree with the Tuesday/Thursday ride's own published gradients to within a few tenths.
"The climb" means the steepest continuous pitch on that road, not the whole ascent from the valley floor. A stretch that dips in the middle scores worse than the unbroken section inside it, so what you see is the hard bit. Ride up from further down and the numbers get longer and gentler.
Times assume a rider putting out 200 W at 84 kg all in, which is only there so the climbs rank against each other. Put your own numbers into the calculator — it will also tell you whether your lowest gear turns at a cadence you can hold on each of these, which on the steeper ones is the real question.
This list is short because it was built from a handful of leads, not from local knowledge. If there is a hill you ride that belongs here — or one listed that is unpleasant enough on traffic grounds that it should not be — say so and it goes in. Naming the roads in order is enough; the measuring is automated.