E-Bikes welcome on 'motorized use' Helena-Lewis & Clark NF trails, roads

Helena – Electric bicycles (often referred to as “e-bikes”) have grown in popularity for both recreational use and hunting on public lands and are currently welcome on more than 52,000 miles of roads and 7,700 miles of trails throughout the Northern Region’s nine National Forests and Dakota Prairie Grasslands where motorized vehicle travel is authorized. Specific to the Helena-Lewis & Clark National Forest in west-central Montana, approximately 2,545 miles of system road and 813 miles of system trail are available for e-bike use.

The USDA Forest Service considers e-bikes as motorized vehicles and therefore prohibits their use on non-motorized National Forest System roads and trails, including off of open system roads and trails.

The Forest Service encourages e-bike riders to consult their local National Forest or Grassland’s Motor Vehicle Use Map to ensure they’re riding on an approved, motorized use road or trail, and to exercise caution when traveling among other motor vehicles.

Helena-Lewis & Clark NF Motor Vehicle Use Maps are available at area Forest offices as well as on the Forest website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/hlcnf/maps-pubs.