USFS National Forest System Trails · Sierra National Forest · California · Updated June 2026
Butches Ridge (USFS trail 23E284) is a 0.9 mi trail in Sierra National Forest, California. Mountain-bike use here is restricted in USFS data, with Class 1 e-bikes also designated.
Can I bike Butches Ridge?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Restricted | — |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | Allowed | Aug–Dec |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | Allowed | Aug–Dec |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | Allowed | Aug–Dec |
Zooming out: across Sierra National Forest, 0% of rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes — a Bike Access Grade of F.
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About this trail
Butches Ridge (USFS trail 23E284) is a 0.9 mi trail in Sierra National Forest, California. The figures here are pulled from the official US Forest Service trail data for Sierra National Forest, covering the trail's mileage, tread, grade band, and the bike and e-bike uses the agency lists as designated. The tread is mapped as native material. USFS slope data puts it in the Intermediate band (grade band 8-10%), meaning a moderate climb — keep in mind this measures steepness, not trail technicality. For traditional mountain bikes, use is restricted according to USFS data. The record additionally permits Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bike use, Aug–Dec; 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 2 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 Butches Ridge?
- Mountain-bike use on Butches Ridge is restricted in USFS records, though Class 1 e-bike use is designated. Confirm current rules with the managing ranger district.
- Are e-bikes allowed on Butches Ridge?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Butches Ridge in the USFS data.
- How long is Butches Ridge?
- Butches Ridge measures about 0.9 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Butches Ridge?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Butches Ridge as native material.
- How difficult is Butches Ridge?
- Its grade-based difficulty is Intermediate (grade band 8-10%), 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 Sierra National Forest (USFS trail geometry isn't mapped).
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