The Bureau of Land Management oversees over 220 miles of mountain bike trails in its Colorado River field office. It is considering allowing Class 1 e-bikes on all these miles under a new proposal.
Bureau of Land Management/Courtesy Photo
The Bureau of Land Management is considering allowing Class 1 e-bikes on more than 200 miles of mountain bike trails in Pitkin, Garfield and Eagle counties.
Compared to other e-bikes, those defined as Class 1 are the most limited in speed and power, offering pedal assist only and capping speeds at 20 mph.
Currently, within the Bureau of Land Management’s Colorado River Field Office, all classes of e-bikes are only allowed on motorized trails. Class 1 e-bikes are allowed on 18 miles of single-track mountain bike trails within the Grand Hoback Trails north of Rifle.
E-bikes are not currently allowed on the remaining 200 miles or so of single-track mountain bike trails managed by this office in coordination with local governments. This includes trail systems in Glenwood Springs, Rifle, New Castle, Eagle, Gypsum and Carbondale.
The federal agency is currently accepting public comments through March 25 on a proposal to allow Class 1 e-bikes on all designated mechanized mountain bike trails managed by the Colorado River field office.
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This includes mountain bike trails in several of the Bureau’s special recreation and extensive management areas: Hardscrabble in Eagle, New Castle, as well as The Crown, Red Hill and Thompson Creek areas near Carbondale. It would also impact the following Bureau-managed trail areas: Catamount, Dry Rifle, East Glenwood Canyon, Fisher Creek, Horse Mountain, Red Hill in Gypsum, Sheep Creek and Windy Point.
According to Lisa Dawson, the Bureau’s field manager for the Colorado River office, the idea came from local mountain bike groups in January 2024. In a news release, Dawson said that the resulting surveys, public meetings and monitored visitor use demonstrated enough interest for the agency to move forward with an environmental assessment required under the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, to change the access.
“We know more people are riding e-bikes on natural trails, and when it makes sense, we work to improve access so everyone can enjoy our great trail systems,” said Alan Czepinski, the Bureau of Land Management’s outdoor recreation planner in the news release.
In addition to accepting public comments, the Bureau is hosting two public meetings this spring about the proposal. This includes a meeting from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, in Eagle, and another from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, March 18, in Silt.
Public comments will be accepted through March 25 on the Bureau of Land Management’s NEPA Register at eplanning.blm.gov under the project name “Allowance of Class 1 E-Bikes on Designated Mountain Bike Trails.”
