Sonora Pass - Highway 4
- Tim Mayhew
- Jun 1
- 2 min read
Highway 4 - Ebbetts Pass is now open.
As a connoisseur of roads, I’m often asked what my favorite twisty CA road is. After all, your goal has been to ride them all… Ebbetts Pass is one of my all-time favorite motorcycle roads in all the state. Really?
I have to reply with if you want to experience the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range at its most raw and technical, Hwy 4-Ebbetts Pass, is the destination. This isn’t a high-speed mountain road; it is a 76-mile journey from Angels Camp to the Hwy 4/89 junction that culminates in a 23-mile stretch of asphalt so narrow and winding that the centerline simply disappears. Add in the drop-offs, narrow s-curves, steep grades and the two lakes at the summit: Mosquito & Alpine. The perfect motorcycle ride.
Originally a Miwok foot path, it was utilized by early pioneers like Jedediah Smith as early as 1827. By the 1850s, John ‘Snowshoe’ Thompson was famously crossing this frozen wilderness on skis to deliver mail. Later, it became a vital toll road during the silver boom in Silver City and Markleeville. It wasn't until the 1920s that it was fully integrated into the state highway system, yet it has never lost its frontier feel.
For the motorcyclist, the narrow section at the double summit is a bucket-list destination. Between Lake Alpine and Hermit Valley, the road tightens into a single-lane ribbon of asphalt that clings to the granite cliffs. With grades reaching 24% and hairpins that require total focus, it is a focused experience in low-speed technical riding. At the 8,730-foot summit, you are surrounded by ancient glaciers and jagged peaks, proving that Ebbetts Pass remains the heart of the High Sierra.
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