USFS National Forest System Trails · Black Hills National Forest · South Dakota · Updated June 2026
Merritt 17 (USFS trail 6217) is a 0.7 mi trail in Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota. Mountain-bike use here is accepted but discouraged in USFS data, with Class 1 e-bikes also designated.
Can I bike Merritt 17?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Accepted but discouraged | — |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | Allowed | May–Dec |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | Allowed | May–Dec |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | Allowed | May–Dec |
Zooming out: across Black Hills 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
Merritt 17 (USFS trail 6217) runs 0.7 mi through Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota. 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. 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. On the electric side, Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are also designated (May–Dec) — 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 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 Black Hills National Forest.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you mountain bike on Merritt 17?
- Mountain-bike use on Merritt 17 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 Merritt 17?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Merritt 17 in the USFS data.
- How long is Merritt 17?
- Merritt 17 measures about 0.7 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Merritt 17?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Merritt 17 as native material.
- How difficult is Merritt 17?
- 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 Black Hills National Forest (USFS trail geometry isn't mapped).
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