USFS National Forest System Trails · Lolo National Forest · Montana · Updated June 2026
Evans Gulch (USFS trail 696) is a 3.6 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 Evans Gulch?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Accepted but discouraged | — |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | Allowed | year-round |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | Allowed | year-round |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | Allowed | year-round |
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
Evans Gulch (USFS trail 696) runs 3.6 mi through Lolo National Forest in 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. USFS records list its surface as native material. Its grade-based difficulty is Advanced (grade band 12-20%) — a steep steepness profile derived from USFS slope data, not a technical mountain-bike 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; 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. 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 Evans Gulch?
- Mountain-bike use on Evans Gulch 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 Evans Gulch?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Evans Gulch in the USFS data.
- How long is Evans Gulch?
- Evans Gulch measures about 3.6 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Evans Gulch?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Evans Gulch as native material.
- How difficult is Evans Gulch?
- 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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