USFS National Forest System Trails · Sawtooth National Forest · Idaho · Updated June 2026
Cold Spring Canyon (USFS trail 7878) is a 1.4 mi trail in Sawtooth National Forest, Idaho. Mountain-bike use here is accepted but discouraged in USFS data, with Class 1 e-bikes also designated.
Can I bike Cold Spring Canyon?
| 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 Sawtooth National Forest, 59% of rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes — a Bike Access Grade of B.
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About this trail
Cold Spring Canyon (USFS trail 7878) runs 1.4 mi through Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho. This profile summarizes what the official US Forest Service trail record says about riding it: how long the trail is, what it's built on, how steep the route grades out, and which forms of bike use the agency has designated. The tread is mapped 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. 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 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. 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 Sawtooth National Forest.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you mountain bike on Cold Spring Canyon?
- Mountain-bike use on Cold Spring 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 Cold Spring Canyon?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Cold Spring Canyon in the USFS data.
- How long is Cold Spring Canyon?
- Cold Spring Canyon measures about 1.4 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Cold Spring Canyon?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Cold Spring Canyon as native material.
- How difficult is Cold Spring Canyon?
- 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 Sawtooth National Forest (USFS trail geometry isn't mapped).
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