Grapevine vs Tehachapi Pass
The two doors between Los Angeles, Bakersfield, and the high desert, live. The Grapevine is higher, steeper, and camera covered; Tehachapi is lower, windier, and read from signs and forecasts. When one closes, the other is the detour, and this page is the decision.
The Grapevine is closed in both directions right now near Lebec for roadway excavation, according to Caltrans. Do not start the drive; read the closures list below and check QuickMap before you go. It is 48 degrees at Tejon Pass.
Last updated at: 12:37 AM Pacific · Caltrans
Tehachapi Pass is open. It is 50 degrees at Tehachapi Pass. 1 lane closure is active on the corridor, listed below.
Last updated at: 12:37 AM Pacific · Caltrans
Side by side
| The Grapevine (I-5) | Tehachapi Pass (SR-58) | |
|---|---|---|
| Route | Interstate 5 | State Route 58 |
| Summit | Tejon Pass, 4,144 ft | Tehachapi Pass, 3,793 ft |
| Verdict now | CLOSED | OPEN |
| Chain control | None posted | None posted (no fixed checkpoints) |
| Summit temp | 48°F | 50°F |
| Signature hazard | Snow and ice on a 6 percent interstate grade | Wind on high profile vehicles, then snow |
| Cameras on this site | 8, bracketing the summit | 9, ends only, none on the mountain |
| Detour role | Detours via SR-14 and SR-58 (Tehachapi) | Detours via SR-14 and I-5 (the Grapevine) |
The structural difference is the story. The Grapevine is an interstate built to freight standards that happens to cross a 4,144 foot pass on a 6 percent grade: four lanes each way, cameras most of the way up, chain checkpoints in the Caltrans feed, and closure decisions made early because the traffic behind any incident is enormous. Tehachapi is a state route that grew into a freeway over a 3,793 foot summit: fewer lanes, no cameras on the mountain at all, wind as its first hazard, and postings announced by signs rather than checkpoints. Neither is better. They fail differently, on different days, for different vehicles.
Use the live table the way dispatchers do. If the Grapevine is posted and Tehachapi is clear, the desert loop adds about two hours and saves the day. If Tehachapi is wind restricted and the Grapevine is open, trucks stay on I-5 and skip the loop. And if both are posted hard at once, the region is having a weather day that no route fixes, and the status history on this site will show you how long those usually last.
For cars the calculus is kinder: either pass in clear weather is an easy drive, and the choice is about destination, not survival. Bakersfield to Los Angeles is the Grapevine by default. Bakersfield to anywhere in the desert or Las Vegas is Tehachapi by default. The passes only become substitutes when one of them closes, which is precisely when this page gets read.
Questions drivers ask
Which pass closes more often?
The Grapevine, for snow and for proactive storm closures; its altitude and grade demand it. Tehachapi's postings are more often wind restrictions on high profile vehicles than full closures. The status history page keeps the public record for both, season by season.
Which is higher, Tejon Pass or Tehachapi Pass?
Tejon Pass, at 4,144 feet, is about 350 feet higher than Tehachapi Pass at 3,793 feet. The town of Tehachapi, oddly, sits higher than both crossings' eastern rival at about 3,970 feet.
How long is the detour if the Grapevine closes?
About 90 minutes to two hours extra: SR-14 from Santa Clarita to Mojave, then SR-58 west into Bakersfield. Check the Tehachapi verdict before committing; the detour crosses its own pass.