USFS National Forest System Trails · Sawtooth National Forest · Idaho · Updated June 2026
The Grinder (USFS trail 7502) is a 10.6 mi trail in Sawtooth National Forest, Idaho. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed, Jun–Nov, with no Class 1 e-bike designation on record.
Can I bike The Grinder?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Allowed | Jun–Nov |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | — | |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | — | |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | — |
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
In Sawtooth National Forest, Idaho, The Grinder (USFS trail 7502) covers 10.6 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 Easy band (grade band 5-8%), meaning a gentle climb — keep in mind this measures steepness, not trail technicality. Bike use is designated as allowed, typically Jun–Nov. No e-bike class (1, 2 or 3) is designated on this trail in the USFS data, so treat it as a non-motorized route unless a posted order says otherwise. 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 The Grinder?
- Yes. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed on The Grinder in Sawtooth National Forest, typically Jun–Nov, per USFS data.
- Are e-bikes allowed on The Grinder?
- No e-bike class (1, 2 or 3) is designated on The Grinder in the USFS data.
- How long is The Grinder?
- The Grinder measures about 10.6 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of The Grinder?
- USFS data records the tread surface of The Grinder as native material.
- How difficult is The Grinder?
- 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).
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