USFS National Forest System Trails · Black Hills National Forest · South Dakota · Updated June 2026
Newton 17 (USFS trail 6917) is a 0.5 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 Newton 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
In Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota, Newton 17 (USFS trail 6917) covers 0.5 mi of National Forest System trail. 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. USFS slope data puts it in the Easy band (grade band 5-8%), meaning a gentle climb — keep in mind this measures steepness, not trail technicality. For traditional mountain bikes, use is discouraged according to USFS data. The record additionally permits Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bike use, May–Dec; 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 2 on the agency's 1-to-5 development scale, where 1 is the most primitive, minimally maintained tread and 5 is the most developed. Because conditions, closures, and local orders change between data refreshes, confirm the current status with the managing ranger district before you ride.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you mountain bike on Newton 17?
- Mountain-bike use on Newton 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 Newton 17?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Newton 17 in the USFS data.
- How long is Newton 17?
- Newton 17 measures about 0.5 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Newton 17?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Newton 17 as native material.
- How difficult is Newton 17?
- Its grade-based difficulty is Easy (grade band 5-8%), 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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