USFS National Forest System Trails · Salmon-Challis National Forest · Idaho · Updated June 2026
Dairy Creek (USFS trail 6004) is a 2.5 mi trail in Salmon-Challis National Forest, Idaho. Mountain-bike use here is accepted but discouraged in USFS data, with Class 1 e-bikes also designated.
Can I bike Dairy Creek?
| 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 Salmon-Challis National Forest, 26% of rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes — a Bike Access Grade of C.
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About this trail
Dairy Creek (USFS trail 6004) is a 2.5 mi trail in Salmon-Challis National Forest, Idaho. The figures here are pulled from the official US Forest Service trail data for Salmon-Challis 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. Based on slope, this is a Advanced trail (grade band +12-20%); that reflects steep gradient and is not the same as a technical MTB difficulty rating. 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 — 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 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. 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 Dairy Creek?
- Mountain-bike use on Dairy Creek 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 Dairy Creek?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Dairy Creek in the USFS data.
- How long is Dairy Creek?
- Dairy Creek measures about 2.5 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Dairy Creek?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Dairy Creek as native material.
- How difficult is Dairy 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 Salmon-Challis National Forest (USFS trail geometry isn't mapped).
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