USFS National Forest System Trails · Chugach National Forest · Alaska · Updated June 2026
Russian Lakes Trail (USFS trail 318) is a 21.7 mi trail in Chugach National Forest, Alaska. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed, Jun–Oct, with no Class 1 e-bike designation on record.
Can I bike Russian Lakes Trail?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Allowed | Jun–Oct |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | — | |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | — | |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | — |
Zooming out: across Chugach National Forest, 91% of rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes — a Bike Access Grade of A.
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About this trail
Russian Lakes Trail (USFS trail 318) runs 21.7 mi through Chugach National Forest in Alaska. This profile summarizes what the official US Forest Service trail record says about riding it: how long the trail is, what it's built on, how steep the route grades out, and which forms of bike use the agency has designated. The tread is mapped as native material. USFS slope data puts it in the Advanced band (grade band 12-20%), meaning a steep climb — keep in mind this measures steepness, not trail technicality. Mountain bikes are allowed, with a Jun–Oct season in the data. No e-bike class (1, 2 or 3) is designated on this trail in the USFS data, so treat it as a non-motorized route unless a posted order says otherwise. The route is mapped as USFS Trail Class 3 on the agency's 1-to-5 development scale, where 1 is the most primitive, minimally maintained tread and 5 is the most developed. For day-of certainty on closures or seasonal orders, check directly with the ranger district, since this reflects the USFS data as of the latest refresh.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you mountain bike on Russian Lakes Trail?
- Yes. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed on Russian Lakes Trail in Chugach National Forest, typically Jun–Oct, per USFS data.
- Are e-bikes allowed on Russian Lakes Trail?
- No e-bike class (1, 2 or 3) is designated on Russian Lakes Trail in the USFS data.
- How long is Russian Lakes Trail?
- Russian Lakes Trail measures about 21.7 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Russian Lakes Trail?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Russian Lakes Trail as native material.
- How difficult is Russian Lakes Trail?
- Its grade-based difficulty is Advanced (grade band 12-20%), derived from USFS slope data. This reflects steepness, not technical mountain-bike difficulty.
How we read this data
Grade-based difficulty above is the USFS grade (route steepness), not a technical mountain-bike rating — a gentle-grade trail can still be rocky or technical, and vice versa. Bike and e-bike status come verbatim from the USFS managed-use fields for this trail; we never infer access we can't cite. See our methodology for how the dataset is built and what each field means.
Where it is
Approximate location of Chugach National Forest (USFS trail geometry isn't mapped).
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