USFS National Forest System Trails · Monongahela National Forest · West Virginia · Updated June 2026
Gauley Mountain Trail # 438 (USFS trail 438) is a 5.2 mi trail in Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed year-round, with no Class 1 e-bike designation on record.
Can I bike Gauley Mountain Trail # 438?
| Use | Status | Season on record |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain bike | Allowed | year-round |
| Class 1 e-bike (pedal-assist, 20 mph) | — | |
| Class 2 e-bike (throttle, 20 mph) | — | |
| Class 3 e-bike (pedal-assist, 28 mph) | — |
Zooming out: across Monongahela National Forest, 100% of rideable trail miles are open to mountain bikes — a Bike Access Grade of B.
Watch Monongahela National Forest for access changes
Email me when USFS mountain-bike or e-bike designations change for trails in Monongahela National Forest. Free, unsubscribe anytime.
About this trail
Gauley Mountain Trail # 438 (USFS trail 438) runs 5.2 mi through Monongahela National Forest in West 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. Its grade-based difficulty is Intermediate (grade band 10-12%) — a moderate steepness profile derived from USFS slope data, not a technical mountain-bike rating. Mountain bikes are allowed, open year-round in the data. 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. 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 Gauley Mountain Trail # 438?
- Yes. Mountain bikes are designated as allowed on Gauley Mountain Trail # 438 in Monongahela National Forest, year-round, per USFS data.
- Are e-bikes allowed on Gauley Mountain Trail # 438?
- No e-bike class (1, 2 or 3) is designated on Gauley Mountain Trail # 438 in the USFS data.
- How long is Gauley Mountain Trail # 438?
- Gauley Mountain Trail # 438 measures about 5.2 mi in total, summed across its mapped National Forest System segments.
- What is the surface of Gauley Mountain Trail # 438?
- USFS data records the tread surface of Gauley Mountain Trail # 438 as native material.
- How difficult is Gauley Mountain Trail # 438?
- Its grade-based difficulty is Intermediate (grade band 10-12%), 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 Monongahela National Forest (USFS trail geometry isn't mapped).
Where to stay near Monongahela National Forest
Find hotels, cabins, and vacation rentals near Monongahela National Forest — plan your ride.
Top-rated places to stay near Monongahela National Forest
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Riding Monongahela National Forest?
Trail-access updates and trip ideas by email.
More trails in Monongahela National Forest
21.3 mi · Intermediate grade
19.3 mi · Intermediate grade
6.6 mi · Intermediate grade
6.3 mi · Intermediate grade
5.2 mi · Intermediate grade
5.2 mi · Intermediate grade