USFS National Forest System Trails · Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests · Colorado · Updated June 2026
South Fork Loop (USFS trail 97) is a 2.8 mi trail in Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, Colorado. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed, Jun–Nov, with no Class 1 e-bike designation on record.
Can I bike South Fork Loop?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Allowed | Jun–Nov |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | Restricted | — |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | Restricted | — |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | Restricted | — |
Zooming out: across Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, 99% of rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes — a Bike Access Grade of A.
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About this trail
South Fork Loop (USFS trail 97) is a 2.8 mi trail in Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, Colorado. 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. Underfoot, the trail is recorded as native material. USFS slope data puts it in the Advanced band (grade band +12-20%), meaning a steep climb — keep in mind this measures steepness, not trail technicality. Mountain bikes are allowed, with a Jun–Nov season in the data. No e-bike class (1, 2 or 3) is designated on this trail in the USFS data, so treat it as a non-motorized route unless a posted order says otherwise. 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 South Fork Loop?
- Yes. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed on South Fork Loop in Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, typically Jun–Nov, per USFS data.
- Are e-bikes allowed on South Fork Loop?
- No e-bike class (1, 2 or 3) is designated on South Fork Loop in the USFS data.
- How long is South Fork Loop?
- South Fork Loop measures about 2.8 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of South Fork Loop?
- USFS data records the tread surface of South Fork Loop as native material.
- How difficult is South Fork Loop?
- 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 Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests (USFS trail geometry isn't mapped).
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