USFS National Forest System Trails · Lolo National Forest · Montana · Updated June 2026
Copper Lake (USFS trail 265) is a 1.4 mi trail in Lolo National Forest, Montana. Mountain-bike use here is accepted but discouraged in USFS data, with Class 1 e-bikes also designated.
Can I bike Copper Lake?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Accepted but discouraged | — |
| 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 Lolo National Forest, 34% of rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes — a Bike Access Grade of C.
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About this trail
Copper Lake (USFS trail 265) is a 1.4 mi trail in Lolo National Forest, Montana. The figures here are pulled from the official US Forest Service trail data for Lolo National Forest, covering the trail's mileage, tread, grade band, and the bike and e-bike uses the agency lists as designated. The tread is mapped as native material. Based on slope, this is a Advanced trail (grade band 12-20%); that reflects steep gradient and is not the same as a technical MTB difficulty rating. For traditional mountain bikes, use is discouraged according to USFS data. The record additionally permits Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bike use, Jan–Oct, December; 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. Treat this as a planning reference rather than a live conditions report, and verify any time-sensitive closure or order with the ranger district that manages Lolo National Forest.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you mountain bike on Copper Lake?
- Mountain-bike use on Copper Lake is discouraged in USFS records, though Class 1 e-bike use is designated. Confirm current rules with the managing ranger district.
- Are e-bikes allowed on Copper Lake?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Copper Lake in the USFS data.
- How long is Copper Lake?
- Copper Lake measures about 1.4 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Copper Lake?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Copper Lake as native material.
- How difficult is Copper Lake?
- Its grade-based difficulty is Advanced (grade band 12-20%), 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 Lolo National Forest (USFS trail geometry isn't mapped).
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