The Cedars of Lebanon

Overview

The Cedars of Lebanon is one of those rare routes where every kilometre earns its keep. Just 22.4 km from start to finish, it is a point-to-point climb that packs 896 metres of vertical gain into its short span — a ratio that leaves no room for coasting and no time to catch your breath. This is not a route you drift through; it is one you commit to. From the first pedal stroke, the road tilts upward toward the high shoulders of Mount Lebanon, and it keeps tilting until it delivers you to the destination that gives the route its name: The Cedars. For riders who measure a day by how much it asks of them, this is a route that asks plenty and rewards in kind.

The Route

Laid out as a single, uninterrupted line rather than a loop, the ride commits fully to its 22.4 km of climbing. There is no return leg folded into the distance, no flat run-out to soften the arithmetic — the point-to-point format means the elevation you gain, you keep. That structure gives the route a clear, honest arc: you start low, you finish high, and the whole 896 metres of ascent stack up between those two points. Every metre of forward progress doubles as upward progress, and the sense of transition — of leaving one world below and arriving somewhere entirely different above — is the route's defining rhythm. It is a journey with a summit rather than a circuit with a start line, and that changes how you ride it.

Key Climbs

The route's marquee feature is the climb to The Cedars itself. With 896 metres of gain compressed into 22.4 km, the ascent is relentless by nature, a sustained pull rather than a series of separate efforts. The Cedars is both the name and the payoff: the road climbs steadily toward the storied cedar groves that crown Mount Lebanon, and the final approach carries the weight of everything that came before it. There is no easing into the difficulty and no hiding from it — the climbing is the route, and The Cedars is where it all leads. Arriving among those trees, having earned every metre under your own power, is the moment the whole ride is built around.

Terrain & Surface

The entire route runs on asphalt, which keeps the challenge honest and the focus squarely on the gradient. A sealed surface from bottom to top means this is a road climb in the purest sense — smooth rubber on smooth tarmac, with traction and rolling resistance taken out of the equation. On a climb this sustained, that consistency matters: you can settle into a rhythm, trust your line, and pour your energy into the slope rather than into managing loose or broken ground. The asphalt makes the route accessible to standard road bikes and lets riders play with pacing, cadence, and gearing across the long ascent.

When to Ride

Because the route climbs into the high terrain of Mount Lebanon, conditions favour the milder, clearer stretches of the year when the road to The Cedars is open and the upper slopes are comfortable to ride. Set out with enough of the day ahead of you to climb steadily rather than rushing the ascent — 896 metres is a lot to give, and the route rewards a measured effort over a frantic one. An earlier start also leaves margin for weather and for lingering among the cedars at the top.

Logistics

The point-to-point layout is the single most important thing to plan around. Because you finish 22.4 km and 896 metres away from where you began, you will need to arrange your own return — whether that means a shuttle, a support vehicle, or a descent back down the way you came. Pack for the swing in altitude between the start and The Cedars, carry enough water and food for a sustained climbing effort, and check that gearing on your bike is friendly to a long, unbroken ascent.

Summary

The Cedars of Lebanon distils cycling to its most elemental form: a smooth asphalt road, 22.4 km of committed climbing, and 896 metres of gain that lift you to the ancient cedar groves of Mount Lebanon. Short in distance but immense in character, it is a route defined entirely by its ascent — and by the singular reward waiting at the top.