USFS National Forest System Trails · Tahoe National Forest · California · Updated June 2026
Brimstone (USFS trail 11E19) is a 1.4 mi trail in Tahoe National Forest, California. Mountain-bike use here is accepted but discouraged in USFS data, with Class 1 e-bikes also designated.
Can I bike Brimstone?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Accepted but discouraged | — |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | Allowed | January |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | Allowed | January |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | Allowed | January |
Zooming out: across Tahoe National Forest, 30% of rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes — a Bike Access Grade of C.
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About this trail
In Tahoe National Forest, California, Brimstone (USFS trail 11E19) covers 1.4 mi of National Forest System trail. The figures here are pulled from the official US Forest Service trail data for Tahoe 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. Based on slope, this is a Easy trail (grade band 5-8%); that reflects gentle gradient and is not the same as a technical MTB difficulty rating. Note that mountain-bike use here is discouraged in USFS records — confirm with the ranger district before riding. On the electric side, Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are also designated (January) — 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 Tahoe National Forest.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you mountain bike on Brimstone?
- Mountain-bike use on Brimstone 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 Brimstone?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Brimstone in the USFS data.
- How long is Brimstone?
- Brimstone measures about 1.4 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Brimstone?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Brimstone as native material.
- How difficult is Brimstone?
- Its grade-based difficulty is Easy (grade band 5-8%), 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 Tahoe National Forest (USFS trail geometry isn't mapped).
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