USFS National Forest System Trails · Custer Gallatin National Forest · Montana · Updated June 2026
Lower Smith Connector (USFS trail 255) is a 1.9 mi trail in Custer Gallatin National Forest, Montana. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed year-round, with Class 1 e-bikes also designated.
Can I bike Lower Smith Connector?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Allowed | year-round |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | Allowed | Jun–Oct |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | Allowed | Jun–Oct |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | Allowed | Jun–Oct |
Zooming out: across Custer Gallatin National Forest, 98% of rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes — a Bike Access Grade of A.
Watch Custer Gallatin National Forest for access changes
Email me when USFS mountain-bike or e-bike designations change for trails in Custer Gallatin National Forest. Free, unsubscribe anytime.
About this trail
Lower Smith Connector (USFS trail 255) is a 1.9 mi trail in Custer Gallatin National Forest, Montana. 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. Underfoot, the trail is recorded as native material. No grade band is recorded, so a steepness-based difficulty isn't available for this trail. Bike use is designated as allowed year-round. On the electric side, Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are also designated (Jun–Oct) — 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 4 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 Lower Smith Connector?
- Yes. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed on Lower Smith Connector in Custer Gallatin National Forest, year-round, per USFS data.
- Are e-bikes allowed on Lower Smith Connector?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Lower Smith Connector in the USFS data.
- How long is Lower Smith Connector?
- Lower Smith Connector measures about 1.9 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Lower Smith Connector?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Lower Smith Connector as native material.
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).
Where to stay near Custer Gallatin National Forest
Find hotels, cabins, and vacation rentals near Custer Gallatin National Forest — plan your ride.
Top-rated places to stay near Custer Gallatin 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 Custer Gallatin National Forest?
Trail-access updates and trip ideas by email.