USFS National Forest System Trails · Sawtooth National Forest · Idaho · Updated June 2026
Elk Meadow - Park Creek (USFS trail 7853) is a 4 mi trail in Sawtooth National Forest, Idaho. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed year-round, with Class 1 e-bikes also designated.
Can I bike Elk Meadow - Park Creek?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Allowed | year-round |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | Allowed | May–Nov |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | Allowed | May–Nov |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | Allowed | May–Nov |
Zooming out: across Sawtooth National Forest, 59% of rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes — a Bike Access Grade of B.
Watch Sawtooth National Forest for access changes
Email me when USFS mountain-bike or e-bike designations change for trails in Sawtooth National Forest. Free, unsubscribe anytime.
About this trail
Elk Meadow - Park Creek (USFS trail 7853) is a 4 mi trail in Sawtooth National Forest, Idaho. 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. Based on slope, this is a Easy trail (grade band 5-8%); that reflects gentle gradient and is not the same as a technical MTB difficulty rating. Mountain bikes are allowed, open year-round in the data. The record additionally permits Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bike use, May–Nov; 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. 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 Elk Meadow - Park Creek?
- Yes. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed on Elk Meadow - Park Creek in Sawtooth National Forest, year-round, per USFS data.
- Are e-bikes allowed on Elk Meadow - Park Creek?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Elk Meadow - Park Creek in the USFS data.
- How long is Elk Meadow - Park Creek?
- Elk Meadow - Park Creek measures about 4 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Elk Meadow - Park Creek?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Elk Meadow - Park Creek as native material.
- How difficult is Elk Meadow - Park Creek?
- Its grade-based difficulty is Easy (grade band 5-8%), 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).
Where to stay near Sawtooth National Forest
Find hotels, cabins, and vacation rentals near Sawtooth National Forest — plan your ride.
Top-rated places to stay near Sawtooth National Forest
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Riding Sawtooth National Forest?
Trail-access updates and trip ideas by email.