USFS National Forest System Trails · Custer Gallatin National Forest · Montana · Updated June 2026
North Cottonwood Access (USFS trail 546) is a 2 mi trail in Custer Gallatin National Forest, Montana. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed, May–Dec, with no Class 1 e-bike designation on record.
Can I bike North Cottonwood Access?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Allowed | May–Dec |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | Restricted | — |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | Restricted | — |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | Restricted | — |
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
North Cottonwood Access (USFS trail 546) runs 2 mi through Custer Gallatin National Forest in 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. USFS records list its surface as native material. No grade band is recorded, so a steepness-based difficulty isn't available for this trail. Mountain bikes are allowed, with a May–Dec season in the data. The agency lists no Class 1, 2 or 3 e-bike designation here; absent a local order to the contrary, that means e-bikes are not an allowed use on this trail. 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. 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 North Cottonwood Access?
- Yes. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed on North Cottonwood Access in Custer Gallatin National Forest, typically May–Dec, per USFS data.
- Are e-bikes allowed on North Cottonwood Access?
- No e-bike class (1, 2 or 3) is designated on North Cottonwood Access in the USFS data.
- How long is North Cottonwood Access?
- North Cottonwood Access measures about 2 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of North Cottonwood Access?
- USFS data records the tread surface of North Cottonwood Access 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.