USFS National Forest System Trails · George Washington and Jefferson National Forest · Virginia · Updated June 2026
Middle Mountain (South) (USFS trail 473A) is a 5.6 mi trail in George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, Virginia. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed year-round, with no Class 1 e-bike designation on record.
Can I bike Middle Mountain (South)?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Allowed | year-round |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | Restricted | — |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | Restricted | — |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | Restricted | — |
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
Middle Mountain (South) (USFS trail 473A) runs 5.6 mi through George Washington and Jefferson National Forest in Virginia. The figures here are pulled from the official US Forest Service trail data for George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, covering the trail's mileage, tread, grade band, and the bike and e-bike uses the agency lists as designated. USFS records list its surface 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. Bike use is designated as allowed year-round. No e-bike class (1, 2 or 3) is designated on this trail in the USFS data, so treat it as a non-motorized route unless a posted order says otherwise. 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 Middle Mountain (South)?
- Yes. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed on Middle Mountain (South) in George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, year-round, per USFS data.
- Are e-bikes allowed on Middle Mountain (South)?
- No e-bike class (1, 2 or 3) is designated on Middle Mountain (South) in the USFS data.
- How long is Middle Mountain (South)?
- Middle Mountain (South) measures about 5.6 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Middle Mountain (South)?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Middle Mountain (South) as native material.
- How difficult is Middle Mountain (South)?
- 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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