USFS National Forest System Trails · Black Hills National Forest · South Dakota · Updated June 2026
Mud Lake (USFS trail 3554) is a 1 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 Mud Lake?
| 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
Mud Lake (USFS trail 3554) runs 1 mi through Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota. This profile summarizes what the official US Forest Service trail record says about riding it: how long the trail is, what it's built on, how steep the route grades out, and which forms of bike use the agency has designated. The tread is mapped as native material. Its grade-based difficulty is Easy (grade band 0-5%) — a gentle steepness profile derived from USFS slope data, not a technical mountain-bike 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. 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 Mud Lake?
- Mountain-bike use on Mud 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 Mud Lake?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Mud Lake in the USFS data.
- How long is Mud Lake?
- Mud Lake measures about 1 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Mud Lake?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Mud Lake as native material.
- How difficult is Mud Lake?
- Its grade-based difficulty is Easy (grade band 0-5%), 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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