USFS National Forest System Trails · Tahoe National Forest · California · Updated June 2026
Butcher Ranch (USFS trail 11E08) is a 6.5 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 Butcher Ranch?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Accepted but discouraged | — |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | Allowed | Apr–Dec |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | Allowed | Apr–Dec |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | Allowed | Apr–Dec |
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, Butcher Ranch (USFS trail 11E08) covers 6.5 mi of National Forest System trail. 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. Based on slope, this is a Advanced trail (grade band 12-20%); that reflects steep 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. The record additionally permits Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bike use, Apr–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 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 Butcher Ranch?
- Mountain-bike use on Butcher Ranch 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 Butcher Ranch?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Butcher Ranch in the USFS data.
- How long is Butcher Ranch?
- Butcher Ranch measures about 6.5 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Butcher Ranch?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Butcher Ranch as native material.
- How difficult is Butcher Ranch?
- 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 Tahoe National Forest (USFS trail geometry isn't mapped).
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