USFS National Forest System Trails · Black Hills National Forest · South Dakota · Updated June 2026
Sota 401 (USFS trail 8401) is a 1.2 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 Sota 401?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Accepted but discouraged | — |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | Allowed | Aug–Dec |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | Allowed | Aug–Dec |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | Allowed | Aug–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
Sota 401 (USFS trail 8401) runs 1.2 mi through Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota. The figures here are pulled from the official US Forest Service trail data for Black Hills National Forest, covering the trail's mileage, tread, grade band, and the bike and e-bike uses the agency lists as designated. Underfoot, the trail is recorded 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. Note that mountain-bike use here is discouraged in USFS records — confirm with the ranger district before riding. On the electric side, Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are also designated (Aug–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. 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 Sota 401?
- Mountain-bike use on Sota 401 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 Sota 401?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Sota 401 in the USFS data.
- How long is Sota 401?
- Sota 401 measures about 1.2 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Sota 401?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Sota 401 as native material.
- How difficult is Sota 401?
- 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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