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CanIBikeHere

Updated October 2026

Payette National Forest Mountain Bike Trails

Mountain bike

169mi

designated on 47 segments

8% of mapped trail

E-bike

836miClass 1

designated on 148 segments

37% of mapped trail

Mountain bike

169mi

designated on 47 segments

8% of mapped trail

Season on record
Year-round
Bike Access Grade
D20% of rideable miles open to bikes. How we grade

E-bike

836miClass 1

designated on 148 segments

  • Class 1836 mi
  • Class 2836 mi
  • Class 3836 mi

Treated as a motor vehicle: ridden only where designated.

Ridable trails
156
Mapped trail
2,257 mi on 619 segments

Both lanes share one scale: the 2,257 mi of National Forest System trail mapped in Payette National Forest, Idaho. From USFS National Forest System Trails records, updated October 2026.

Payette National Forest earns a Bike Access Grade of D: 20% of its rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes, with Class-1 e-bike access on part of the network. Limited — only a small share of rideable trail miles are open to traditional bikes.

Payette National Forest carries 2,257 mi of mapped National Forest System trail, of which 169 mi across 47 segments is designated for mountain bikes, typically open Year-round. Class 1 e-bikes are designated on 148 segments (836 mi).

Reviewed by CanIBikeHere Editorial Team · Updated
Where to stay near Payette National Forest →

What the USFS data shows for Payette National Forest

Of the 2,257 mi of mapped trail in Payette National Forest, 8% — 169 mi across 47 bike-designated segments — is open to mountain bikes in USFS travel-management data.

Tread is overwhelmingly native dirt: USFS lists native material on 529 of 599 surfaced segments (88%).

On the USFS difficulty rating, advanced is the most common designation here — 23 of 23 rated segments (100%) — across all uses, not bikes alone.

USFS records a year-round bike season for this forest, though 2 different season windows still appear on individual segments at higher elevation.

The longest single named bike segment in the data is Bear Pete Ridge at 17.69 mi on native dirt.

Class 1 e-bikes are designated on 148 segments (836 mi), and 7 segments carry an ADA-accessibility flag in the same dataset.

Trail surface

  • Native Material529
  • Snow68
  • Imported Compacted Material1
  • Other1

USFS trail class (1 = primitive · 5 = developed)

  • Class 3283
  • Class 2210
  • Class 1105
  • Class 45
  • Class 51

8% of this forest's mapped trail is bike-designated. Note: USFS records trail grade (steepness), not technical MTB difficulty — we surface grade where present but do not infer a black/blue/green rating from it.

Largest bike-designated trails

TrailMiles
Bear Pete RidgeNative Material17.69
Indian RidgeNative Material17.56
French CreekNative Material16.58
S/F Salmon River EastNative Material15.45
TailholtNative Material14.74
Rapid River RidgeNative Material14.68
Secesh RiverNative Material14.65
Loon Creek/Loon LakeNative Material14.51
Council MountainNative MaterialYear-round14.14
Patrick ButteNative Material13.81
CrestlineNative Material13.55
Raines Creek/Slaughter GulchNative Material12.74
Grouse Creek/Grizzly CreekNative MaterialYear-round12.6
North Fork Kennally CreekNative Material12.46
Buckhorn CreekNative Material12.44
Fitsum CreekNative Material12.02
Loon CreekNative Material11.83
S/F Sheep CreekNative Material11.54
Rainbow RidgeNative Material11.32
BoundaryNative MaterialYear-round11.15
Grass Mountain (Off 257)Native Material10.91
Twenty MileNative Material10.86
Four MileNative Material10.66
Victor CreekNative Material10.63
Cougar CreekNative Material10.37

Every trail in Payette National Forest

All 156 ridable trails in this forest — every trail where USFS data designates mountain-bike or Class 1 e-bike use, grouped by grade-based steepness. Grade reflects slope, not technical difficulty. Each trail links to its full data profile.

Advanced grade (2)

Steep grade band.

Grade not recorded (154)

No grade band recorded in the USFS data.

CSV

Payette National Forest bike-legal trail list (CSV)

Download all 156 bike- and Class 1 e-bike-designated trails in Payette National Forest — name, miles, surface, grade, season, and e-bike class per trail, straight from USFS data.

E-bikes in Payette National Forest

Class 1 on 148 segments · Class 2 on 148 · Class 3 on 148. See full e-bike rules for Payette National Forest →

Where it is

Approximate center of Payette National Forest. USFS trail geometry isn't mapped here — use the ranger district for trailheads.

Frequently asked questions

What is the bike access grade for Payette National Forest?
Payette National Forest earns a Bike Access Grade of D: 20% of its rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes, with Class-1 e-bike access on part of the network. Limited — only a small share of rideable trail miles are open to traditional bikes.
How many miles of mountain bike trail are in Payette National Forest?
Payette National Forest has about 169 mi of bike-designated trail across 47 segments, out of 2,257 mi of total National Forest System trail.
What is the riding season in Payette National Forest?
Most bike-designated trails in Payette National Forest carry a Year-round season in USFS data; higher-elevation trails clear later.
Are e-bikes allowed in Payette National Forest?
Only where designated. Class 1 e-bikes are recorded on 148 segments. See the e-bike rules page for the class-by-class breakdown.

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Where to stay near Payette National Forest

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Top-rated places to stay near Payette National Forest

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