USFS National Forest System Trails · Caribou-Targhee National Forest · Idaho · Updated June 2026
South Fork Indian Creek (USFS trail 4045) is a 9.6 mi trail in Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Idaho. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed year-round, with Class 1 e-bikes also designated.
Can I bike South Fork Indian Creek?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Allowed | year-round |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | Allowed | Jan–Sep, Nov–Dec |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | Allowed | Jan–Sep, Nov–Dec |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | Allowed | Jan–Sep, Nov–Dec |
Zooming out: across Caribou-Targhee National Forest, 98% of rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes — a Bike Access Grade of A.
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About this trail
In Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Idaho, South Fork Indian Creek (USFS trail 4045) covers 9.6 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. USFS records list its surface 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, open year-round in the data. The record additionally permits Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bike use, Jan–Sep, Nov–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. 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 South Fork Indian Creek?
- Yes. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed on South Fork Indian Creek in Caribou-Targhee National Forest, year-round, per USFS data.
- Are e-bikes allowed on South Fork Indian Creek?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on South Fork Indian Creek in the USFS data.
- How long is South Fork Indian Creek?
- South Fork Indian Creek measures about 9.6 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of South Fork Indian Creek?
- USFS data records the tread surface of South Fork Indian Creek as native material.
- How difficult is South Fork Indian Creek?
- 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 Caribou-Targhee National Forest (USFS trail geometry isn't mapped).
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