The slopes of the hill were unpaved until 1986, when a local farmer paved the road in cobbles because he wanted the Tour of Flanders cycling race to pass by his house.

The cobbled climb became one of the iconic sites of Belgian cycling, and in 1993 the road of the Paterberg was classified as a protected monument.

Together with the Koppenberg and Oude Kwaremont it is one of the most arduous climbs in the region, because of its steep slopes and narrow cobbled road.

Its average gradient is 12,5% with its steepest point, 20%, stretching for more than 100 m. The Paterberg was included in the Tour of Flanders every time since its first inclusion in 1986, a record it shares only with the Kwaremont.

The Paterberg is also regularly included in the E3 Harelbeke and Dwars door Vlaanderen, as well as in the Tour of Flanders for Women.