USFS National Forest System Trails · Los Padres National Forest · California · Updated June 2026
Branch Creek Ohv (USFS trail 17E09) is a 4.3 mi trail in Los Padres National Forest, California. Mountain-bike use here is accepted but discouraged in USFS data, with Class 1 e-bikes also designated.
Can I bike Branch Creek Ohv?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Accepted but discouraged | — |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | Allowed | May–Nov |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | Allowed | May–Nov |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | Allowed | May–Nov |
Zooming out: across Los Padres National Forest, 51% of rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes — a Bike Access Grade of B.
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About this trail
Branch Creek Ohv (USFS trail 17E09) is a 4.3 mi trail in Los Padres National Forest, California. Everything below comes straight from the US Forest Service National Forest System Trails dataset — length, surface, slope-derived difficulty, and the specific bike and e-bike designations on record — so you can check legality before you load up. The tread is mapped 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. Note that mountain-bike use here is discouraged in USFS records — confirm with the ranger district before riding. The record additionally permits Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bike use, May–Nov; recall that Class 1 is pedal-assist, while Class 2 adds a throttle and Class 3 a higher cutoff 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. Because conditions, closures, and local orders change between data refreshes, confirm the current status with the managing ranger district before you ride.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you mountain bike on Branch Creek Ohv?
- Mountain-bike use on Branch Creek Ohv is discouraged in USFS records, though Class 1 e-bike use is designated. Confirm current rules with the managing ranger district.
- Are e-bikes allowed on Branch Creek Ohv?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Branch Creek Ohv in the USFS data.
- How long is Branch Creek Ohv?
- Branch Creek Ohv measures about 4.3 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Branch Creek Ohv?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Branch Creek Ohv as native material.
- How difficult is Branch Creek Ohv?
- 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 Los Padres National Forest (USFS trail geometry isn't mapped).
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