USFS National Forest System Trails · Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest · Colorado · Updated June 2026
Rainbow Lakes (USFS trail 1130.1) is a 8.3 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 Rainbow Lakes?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Accepted but discouraged | — |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | Allowed | year-round |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | Allowed | year-round |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | Allowed | year-round |
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
Rainbow Lakes (USFS trail 1130.1) runs 8.3 mi through Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest in Colorado. 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. 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. 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; 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. For day-of certainty on closures or seasonal orders, check directly with the ranger district, since this reflects the USFS data as of the latest refresh.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you mountain bike on Rainbow Lakes?
- Mountain-bike use on Rainbow Lakes 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 Rainbow Lakes?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Rainbow Lakes in the USFS data.
- How long is Rainbow Lakes?
- Rainbow Lakes measures about 8.3 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Rainbow Lakes?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Rainbow Lakes as native material.
- How difficult is Rainbow Lakes?
- 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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