Duryea / Pagoda

The Blue Mountain Region of the SCCA hosts two of the PHA Champion Series Hillclimb events each summer in Reading, PA — Pagoda and Duryea Hillclimb. 

Pagoda starts at the beginning of Duryea Drive, and finishes just after turn 9 and below it’s namesake, the Pagoda.  Duryea includes the Pagoda course,  and continues past the Pagoda onto the scenic Skyline Drive, ending at the Fire Tower.

With a history dating back to 1951, these events are some of the oldest running in the northeast. 

The road itself — Duryea Drive — was named in honor of Charles E. Duryea, inventor and builder of the first successful hillclimbing gasoline automobile in the the US.  Duryea Drive was the road used by Duryea to test his cars from 1900-1907.  As a side note, it was actually Charles’ daughter Rhea who did most of the testing.

The used to be a hotel  at the Fire Tower site,  built in 1891 and razed in 1959.  All that remains of the hotel today is the foundation and a white cement platform to the right of the William Penn Memorial Fire Tower.

See this article for more info on Rhea Duryea, and this article for more information on the Mt. Penn Fire Tower.

While the Pagoda course is shorter than Duryea at 1.3 miles, it is a very technical course consisting of 9 turns (or 10 if you count 5b).  It has something for everyone, low and high HP cars alike. 

Turns 1-4 are sharp turns and will test your autocrossing skills,  as do most of our hills.   Turn 3 is pictured below.

Turn 4 is followed by a more or less “straight” between turns 5 and 6, passing 5b.   BTW,  turn 5b definitely seems like a turn from the driver’s seat, even if it doesn’t on the map.

Turn 6 is a sweeper, and is one of the most important turns of the course to get right. Braking too soon means you will lose speed and therefore time. However, there is the risk of braking too late, and carrying so much speed into the turn that you don’t quite make it around. It is locally known as “Oh S**T”, as this is the phrase that has been known to be involuntarily muttered by drivers in both situations. It is also muttered sometimes by drivers in amazement when they finally get it right, and experience the perfect run through the turn. 

Following turn 6, all the speed carried into the turn will need to be bled off quickly in order to make it around turn 7, a sharp left turn.

Turns 8 and 9 are sharp rights and lefts respectively, and the finish line is after turn 9, just below the Pagoda. The turn around  area is in the Pagoda parking lot, so drivers will get a chance to check it out. 

The Duryea course shares the same start line as Pagoda, but but continues for 0.8 miles past the Pagoda Finish Line, ending at the Mt Penn Fire Tower.  At 2.25 miles, Duryea is the longest course in the PHA Championship series. 

While the Pagoda course contains some of the most technical turns, turn 10 of Duryea is one of the most difficult turns of both courses, as it is a sharp right turn onto a very narrow roadway.  

After successfully navigating turn 10, the course is once again a “more or less a straight line” to the finish  through the last 3 turns.  But hold on to your hat, as it is quite a ride!   


General Hill Information:

Pagoda HillclimbDuryea Hillclimb
LocationReading, PA
Pit LocationUpper Pits
William Penn Fire Tower on Skyline Drive
N 40 20' 51.44"" W 75 54' 9.47

Lower Pits
Duryea Drive & Clymer St
N 40 20' 7.64" W 75 54' 40.36"
Length1.3 miles2.25 miles
Elevation of Change450'800'
Number of Turns913
Course Map
(click on map to expand)


Paddock Area:
Camping for both events is at the Fire Tower on Skyline Drive.   The camping area is generally not accessible during the event, so you will need to bring whatever you need down with you to  event Paddock area. 

The event Paddock Area itself is only “ours” from about 6 AM to 6 PM on the event days.  After that, it is reopened to the public, so everything must be cleared out.  Most of us store our cars at the Fire Tower (and camp there), and bring what we need down to the lower pits each morning.

The lower pit / paddock area is on Clymer Street , with some additional spaces on Lombard Street before turn 2.  


Spectators:
Visitors can park outside of the closed off areas of the lower pit area during the event and walk in.

Both Pagoda and Duryea have many places along the course to safely watch the event.  The spectator areas for turns 1-4 are easily accessible on foot from the pit area along Clymer drive, and there are bleachers between turns 2 and 3. There are also bleachers between turns 7 and 8.

A shuttle bus runs all day during the event from the pit area (Clymer and Hill Rd intersection) to various locations along the course that cannot be easily reached on foot.


2019 Duryea Hillclimb Photos

The photos below taken by former Duryea competitor and Reading Eagle photographer Tom Boland

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