USFS National Forest System Trails · Sequoia National Forest · California · Updated June 2026
Sheep Trough Cutoff (USFS trail 31E73A) is a 0.7 mi trail in Sequoia National Forest, California. Mountain-bike use here is accepted but discouraged in USFS data, with Class 1 e-bikes also designated.
Can I bike Sheep Trough Cutoff?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Accepted but discouraged | — |
| 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 Sequoia National Forest, 6% of rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes — a Bike Access Grade of F.
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About this trail
Sheep Trough Cutoff (USFS trail 31E73A) is a 0.7 mi trail in Sequoia National Forest, California. 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. USFS records list its surface as native material. Its grade-based difficulty is Advanced (grade band 12-20%) — a steep steepness profile derived from USFS slope data, not a technical mountain-bike rating. For traditional mountain bikes, use is discouraged according to USFS data. The record additionally permits Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bike use; 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 Sheep Trough Cutoff?
- Mountain-bike use on Sheep Trough Cutoff 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 Sheep Trough Cutoff?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Sheep Trough Cutoff in the USFS data.
- How long is Sheep Trough Cutoff?
- Sheep Trough Cutoff measures about 0.7 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Sheep Trough Cutoff?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Sheep Trough Cutoff as native material.
- How difficult is Sheep Trough Cutoff?
- 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 Sequoia National Forest (USFS trail geometry isn't mapped).
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