USFS National Forest System Trails · Idaho Panhandle National Forests · Idaho · Updated June 2026
Lake Elsie (USFS trail 106) is a 8 mi trail in Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Idaho. Mountain-bike use here is accepted but discouraged in USFS data, with Class 1 e-bikes also designated.
Can I bike Lake Elsie?
| 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 Idaho Panhandle National Forests, 6% of rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes — a Bike Access Grade of F.
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About this trail
Lake Elsie (USFS trail 106) is a 8 mi trail in Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Idaho. The figures here are pulled from the official US Forest Service trail data for Idaho Panhandle National Forests, covering the trail's mileage, tread, grade band, and the bike and e-bike uses the agency lists as designated. Underfoot, the trail is recorded as native material. USFS slope data puts it in the Intermediate band (grade band 8-10%), meaning a moderate climb — keep in mind this measures steepness, not trail technicality. For traditional mountain bikes, use is discouraged according to USFS data. 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 2 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 Lake Elsie?
- Mountain-bike use on Lake Elsie 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 Lake Elsie?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Lake Elsie in the USFS data.
- How long is Lake Elsie?
- Lake Elsie measures about 8 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Lake Elsie?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Lake Elsie as native material.
- How difficult is Lake Elsie?
- Its grade-based difficulty is Intermediate (grade band 8-10%), 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 Idaho Panhandle National Forests (USFS trail geometry isn't mapped).
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