USFS National Forest System Trails · Cleveland National Forest · California · Updated June 2026
Kernan (USFS trail 802) is a 5.5 mi trail in Cleveland National Forest, California. Mountain-bike use here is not designated in USFS data, with Class 1 e-bikes also designated.
Can I bike Kernan?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | — | |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | Allowed | year-round |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | Allowed | year-round |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | Allowed | year-round |
Zooming out: across Cleveland National Forest, 75% of rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes — a Bike Access Grade of A.
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About this trail
Kernan (USFS trail 802) runs 5.5 mi through Cleveland National Forest in California. The figures here are pulled from the official US Forest Service trail data for Cleveland National Forest, covering the trail's mileage, tread, grade band, and the bike and e-bike uses the agency lists as designated. USFS records list its surface as native material. USFS slope data puts it in the Intermediate band (grade band 10-12%), meaning a moderate climb — keep in mind this measures steepness, not trail technicality. For traditional mountain bikes, use is not designated according to USFS data. On the electric side, Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are also designated — Class 1 being pedal-assist only, Classes 2 and 3 adding a throttle and higher assisted speed. 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. Treat this as a planning reference rather than a live conditions report, and verify any time-sensitive closure or order with the ranger district that manages Cleveland National Forest.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you mountain bike on Kernan?
- Mountain-bike use on Kernan is not designated in USFS records, though Class 1 e-bike use is designated. Confirm current rules with the managing ranger district.
- Are e-bikes allowed on Kernan?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Kernan in the USFS data.
- How long is Kernan?
- Kernan measures about 5.5 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Kernan?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Kernan as native material.
- How difficult is Kernan?
- Its grade-based difficulty is Intermediate (grade band 10-12%), 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 Cleveland National Forest (USFS trail geometry isn't mapped).
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