USFS National Forest System Trails · Custer Gallatin National Forest · Montana · Updated June 2026
Bell Tower Divide (USFS trail 3040) is a 2.5 mi trail in Custer Gallatin National Forest, Montana. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed, Jan–Oct, December, with Class 1 e-bikes also designated.
Can I bike Bell Tower Divide?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Allowed | Jan–Oct, December |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | Allowed | Jan–Oct, December |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | Allowed | Jan–Oct, December |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | Allowed | Jan–Oct, December |
Zooming out: across Custer Gallatin National Forest, 98% of rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes — a Bike Access Grade of A.
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About this trail
Bell Tower Divide (USFS trail 3040) is a 2.5 mi trail in Custer Gallatin National Forest, Montana. The figures here are pulled from the official US Forest Service trail data for Custer Gallatin National Forest, 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. Its grade-based difficulty is Intermediate (grade band +8-10%) — a moderate steepness profile derived from USFS slope data, not a technical mountain-bike rating. Bike use is designated as allowed, typically Jan–Oct, December. On the electric side, Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are also designated (Jan–Oct, December) — 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. 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 Bell Tower Divide?
- Yes. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed on Bell Tower Divide in Custer Gallatin National Forest, typically Jan–Oct, December, per USFS data.
- Are e-bikes allowed on Bell Tower Divide?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Bell Tower Divide in the USFS data.
- How long is Bell Tower Divide?
- Bell Tower Divide measures about 2.5 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Bell Tower Divide?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Bell Tower Divide as native material.
- How difficult is Bell Tower Divide?
- 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 Custer Gallatin National Forest (USFS trail geometry isn't mapped).
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