USFS National Forest System Trails · Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest · Colorado · Updated June 2026
Big Bear Canyon (USFS trail 657) is a 3.9 mi trail in Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, Colorado. Mountain-bike use here is accepted but discouraged in USFS data, with Class 1 e-bikes also designated.
Can I bike Big Bear Canyon?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Accepted but discouraged | — |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | Allowed | May–Nov |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | Allowed | May–Nov |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | Allowed | May–Nov |
Zooming out: across Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, 14% of rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes — a Bike Access Grade of D.
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About this trail
Big Bear Canyon (USFS trail 657) is a 3.9 mi trail in Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, Colorado. The figures here are pulled from the official US Forest Service trail data for Medicine Bow-Routt 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 Advanced band (grade band 12-20%), meaning a steep climb — keep in mind this measures steepness, not trail technicality. For traditional mountain bikes, use is discouraged according to USFS data. On the electric side, Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are also designated (May–Nov) — 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 Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you mountain bike on Big Bear Canyon?
- Mountain-bike use on Big Bear Canyon 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 Big Bear Canyon?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Big Bear Canyon in the USFS data.
- How long is Big Bear Canyon?
- Big Bear Canyon measures about 3.9 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Big Bear Canyon?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Big Bear Canyon as native material.
- How difficult is Big Bear Canyon?
- 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 Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest (USFS trail geometry isn't mapped).
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