USFS National Forest System Trails · George Washington and Jefferson National Forest · Virginia · Updated June 2026
Dynamite (USFS trail 493) is a 6.5 mi trail in George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, Virginia. Mountain-bike use here is accepted but discouraged in USFS data, with Class 1 e-bikes also designated.
Can I bike Dynamite?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Accepted but discouraged | — |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | Allowed | January, Apr–Dec |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | Allowed | January, Apr–Dec |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | Allowed | January, Apr–Dec |
Zooming out: across George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, 90% of rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes — a Bike Access Grade of A.
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About this trail
Dynamite (USFS trail 493) is a 6.5 mi trail in George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, Virginia. 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 Advanced band (grade band +12-20%), meaning a steep 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 (January, Apr–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 George Washington and Jefferson National Forest.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you mountain bike on Dynamite?
- Mountain-bike use on Dynamite 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 Dynamite?
- Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 e-bikes are designated on Dynamite in the USFS data.
- How long is Dynamite?
- Dynamite measures about 6.5 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Dynamite?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Dynamite as native material.
- How difficult is Dynamite?
- 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 George Washington and Jefferson National Forest (USFS trail geometry isn't mapped).
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