# EPIC e-MTB summer vacation??



## cmc4130 (Jan 30, 2008)

A year or two ago, I saw an article and photos about E-MTB tours of the Alps. Then last fall, I got to demo a Pivot E-MTB around here. 

I don't own an E-MTB (yet), but I'm trying to figure out if there are some affordable vacation destination spots where I could ride some very scenic, challenging terrain. 

I've done lots of lift-access DH trips in the last 10 years. But, I'm trying to think of where an E-MTB might truly shine. Maybe it would just be next to a ski-lift mountain, but where the ski-lift riders don't have easy access to, or something.... 

I know it's a vague question, but I'm sure some of you will have some ideas. 

(I do have MOAB on my must-visit-someday list, but I understand it's too hot to hit in July and August). This will probably be an August trip.

I've never been to Idaho, Wyoming, or Montana. Any opinions on Sun Valley, Idaho?


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 1996)

Where do you live?


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## Walt (Jan 23, 2004)

Basically the entire west is BLM or USFS land. It is VERY hard to put together any sort of long/cool/extensive legal ride on an e-bike. Entire destination areas (most of the mountain bike trails in Moab, Park City, Durango, etc) are pretty much completely off limits. 

I'd look at moto-legal trail systems where you could link stuff up and get epic length/elevation/views. Back in the day there was a lot of moto-legal singletrack in the Pike's Peak area, and likewise the Monarch Crest/Crested Butte area. Lots of other places, too. Eagle/Vail used to have some cool anything-goes trails. 

Not sure if that's still the case, though, as I've not owned a moto in almost 15 years now. You're going to need to do some serious research to find spots in the west that will work for more than a day or two of riding.

-Walt


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## levity (Oct 31, 2011)

The Moab area is usually too hot June to mid-September, but there are miles of "anything-goes" trails (moto and 4x4) in the area. We always take our emtbs as well as our regular mtbs when we visit. The emtbs are great fun for exploring scenic areas that might not be as fun on a regular bike (e.g., too much sand or climbing). Some emtb pics -

7-mile rim









Merrimac Butte









Hidden Valley









Dead Horse Point State Park


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## ruthabagah (Jun 4, 2018)

I'll second all the OHV trails in Moab as being great on EMTB. I will add that most if not all of Colorado state park will allow ebikes on bike trails. If you are in the Denver area, the Jeffco park systems offers tons of EMTB options from green to double diamond trails. Some resorts (steamboat for example) will rent EMTB to use on their bike park (guided tour only).


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## figofspee (Jul 19, 2018)

Sun Valley is awesome place to ride if you are restricting yourself to legal trails. I have never ebiked there but the motorcycle crowd has a ton of options from what I have heard.


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## Tomato4 (Jul 21, 2011)

There is about 125 miles of ebike legal trails on the Colville National Forest/WDNR about 1 hour north of Spokane, WA. Batey-bould trail system (~40 miles) and its connected to the LPO trail system (~75 miles) are mixed use trails.


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## Harryman (Jun 14, 2011)

Walt said:


> Back in the day there was a lot of moto-legal singletrack in the Pike's Peak area
> -Walt


It's still the same. 18 good miles available from town, lots of mixed miles if you're willing to drive 45 minutes NW. There's 22K miles of moto legal roads and singletrack in Colorado, so with a bit of investigating, I'm sure there is good ebike riding around the state.

Cheyenne Mtn state park is ebike legal, they've got 27 miles total. The state park system allows them where mtbs are allowed, which is only in some. Some are hiking only, some are state wildlife areas without much in the way of trails, more of a hook&bullet experience.

This is worth a perusal, it's not super accurate yet as to use, we've come across a few errors where it says bikes aren't allowed, but they are. It's still newish. Nice phone app though.

https://trails.colorado.gov/


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 1996)

MOAB will be awesome on ebike!!!! Though not allowed in the strictly mtb trails, they have so many cool moto trails great for a bike.

The Moab BLM district has over 3900 miles of designated motorized dirt roads and motorized singletrack. Slickrock, Amasa Back, Dead Horse, Sovereign Trail, and the Enduro Loop (near the Dubinky Well Road) are great singletrack options for E-bikes.


Some of these trails are really not that fun for many on normal bikes (like Slickrock) but they're almost guaranteed fun for most.

And your weather tolerance is better. It can be 10 degrees hotter and you'll still manage to have fun compared to an unassisted bike since you can create your own wind. Example, if your limit is 85 degrees, you'll be ok at 95 on E, approximately.


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 1996)

Another one is Bentonville, Arkansas. From what I understand, they have dozens if purpose built mtb trails, all mtb legal.


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 1996)

An incredible destination is the Downieville area in Northern CA. Soo many trails, and three adjacent towns.

Used to be mostly shuttle rides. But turns out to be perfect for ebikes. 

It's near Lake Tahoe, mostly ebike legal


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## encouragable (Dec 24, 2011)

Tomato4 said:


> There is about 125 miles of ebike legal trails on the Colville National Forest/WDNR about 1 hour north of Spokane, WA. Batey-bould trail system (~40 miles) and its connected to the LPO trail system (~75 miles) are mixed use trails.


That sounds quite incredible.


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## encouragable (Dec 24, 2011)

Walt said:


> Basically the entire west is BLM or USFS land. It is VERY hard to put together any sort of long/cool/extensive legal ride on an e-bike. Entire destination areas (most of the mountain bike trails in Moab, Park City, Durango, etc) are pretty much completely off limits.
> ...
> 
> -Walt


Some pretty misleading info on Moab there. There are many options there including the iconic Slickrock Trail, Amasa Back and the pretty good singletrack at Sovereign. Lots of other options too and you can ride them all from downtown.


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

Honestly, you could string together a great 10 days of ebike riding by basing near Grand Junction, CO. You have the Rabbit Valley area, Zion Curtain, motorized Kokopelli that would take a couple of days.

You could pop over to Moab for at least three days, to do Sovereign, Slickrock, Amasa Back jeep road, Hurrah Pass/Chicken Corners, motorized Porcupine Rim, Moab Rim, Little Canyon, Bull Canyon/Poison Spider/Golden Crack, Dead Horse Point State Park, hell, it would take a couple of weeks to hit everything legal just around Moab. The trails group there hates ebikes, but fsck them, almost all of the original Moab trails are open to ebikes and are awesome. Some of the original trails have fallen out of favor because of the new, bright shiny singletrack that is off limits to ebikes, but Moab got its reputation with what are essentially Jeep trails, open to ebikes.

Back to Grand Junction, there are some awesome trails on Grand Mesa that are Forest Roads, some of them grown over so much they might as well be singletrack. Then there is the Sidewinder trail from Delta to Montrose, check this one out, all legal:

https://www.deltacountycolorado.com...il-22-miles-of-incredible-desert-singletrack/

There are also some great ebike legal trails down around Naturita/Nucla. Ridgway State Park has ten miles of beginner level trails open to ebikes as well.

It would take a long, long time to hit everything ebike legal within a two hour drive of Grand Junction. I hope to live over that way someday, and maybe I'll start a blog to guide everyone to legal ebike options in western CO.


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## mtbbiker (Apr 8, 2004)

Let’s keep this about legal areas or take it to PMs. I don’t want this great thread turning into a pissing match! 
Thanks!


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## Walt (Jan 23, 2004)

Yeah, I guess I was referring to the "new" (last 15 years) Moab. 

All the old school jeep road rides and Sovereign are still very cool and are perfect for e-bikes. 

Grand Junction area is good too. I used to do an enduro (the moto kind) that went from GJ to Green River on at least 50% singletrack, a lot of which would be very fun on an e-bike, but horrible on a normal bike (too steep, too rutted, etc from moto use). 

-Walt


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## figofspee (Jul 19, 2018)

Mammoth!

https://www.rei.com/blog/cycle/mammoths-trailblazing-path-for-electric-mountain-bikes


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## jprider (May 24, 2009)

If you get a chance check out Oakridge, OR. 300+ miles of trails and most are open to E Bikes. It would be warm in August, it is Summer, but the high country will be cooler and great riding.


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

jprider said:


> If you get a chance check out Oakridge, OR. 300+ miles of trails and most are open to E Bikes. It would be warm in August, it is Summer, but the high country will be cooler and great riding.


 Oakridge looks epic, it's on my bucket list.


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## motocatfish (Mar 12, 2016)

We're in Oregon now on our eEpic. Ashland, Post Canyon, Post Canyon shuttle today, Black Rock, Alsea Falls, and Ashland again on the way home. 

BRAAAP!

Catfish ...

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk


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## motocatfish (Mar 12, 2016)

motocatfish said:


> We're in Oregon now on our eEpic. Ashland, Post Canyon, Post Canyon shuttle today, Black Rock, Alsea Falls, and Ashland again on the way home.
> ...


And what a vacation we had!

Loaded up Shaggy ...







the magic van! ;-)








In search of the illusive ... (at Ashland Mountain Adventures)







Shuttled Mt. Ashland for a 5k descent!







We found it!







Best Ashland trail!

Only eMtb rule in Ashland is no climbing the DH singletrack trails. 

Epic Track Day at Oregon Raceway Park.








Last feature on "Extended Play" trail at Post Canyon (Hood River)







76yo about to launch?!? ;-)








Enjoyed Post Canyon so much we returned 3 days later for an FTF Shuttle ride & climbed to the top of the Dirt Surfer moto trail. 







I wish I lived near Post Canyon!

We climbed 2 laps at Black Rock Mtb Park, west of Falls City, OR. Cool trails & wooden features. I wish I lived near it too!















Didn't make it to the Alsea Falls trails. Hope to next time.

And stopped at Ashland on the way home for another shuttle to Jabberwocky.







And more sushi at Bonzai Teriyaki. 

BRAAAP!!!

Catfish ...


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## mtbbiker (Apr 8, 2004)

Wow! Epic emtb vacation, thanks for sharing!


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Definitely looks like fun!


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## portnuefpeddler (Jun 14, 2016)

Walt said:


> Basically the entire west is BLM or USFS land. It is VERY hard to put together any sort of long/cool/extensive legal ride on an e-bike. Entire destination areas (most of the mountain bike trails in Moab, Park City, Durango, etc) are pretty much completely off limits.
> 
> I'd look at moto-legal trail systems where you could link stuff up and get epic length/elevation/views. Back in the day there was a lot of moto-legal singletrack in the Pike's Peak area, and likewise the Monarch Crest/Crested Butte area. Lots of other places, too. Eagle/Vail used to have some cool anything-goes trails.
> 
> ...


 You're kidding, right? Once again, I am SO glad I live and ride in Idaho.


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## tuckerjt07 (Nov 24, 2016)

fc said:


> Another one is Bentonville, Arkansas. From what I understand, they have dozens if purpose built mtb trails, all mtb legal.


There's probably over 200+ miles of singletrack that's within an hour, most of it is 15 minutes, drive from downtown Bentonville that are e-bike legal.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


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## GoGoGordo (Jul 16, 2006)

Sick! :cornut:


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## Guest (Jul 1, 2019)

^^^:yawn::yawn::yawn:


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## rider95 (Mar 30, 2016)

tuckerjt07 said:


> There's probably over 200+ miles of singletrack that's within an hour, most of it is 15 minutes, drive from downtown Bentonville that are e-bike legal.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


Planning a trip there now


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## cmc4130 (Jan 30, 2008)

figofspee said:


> Mammoth!
> 
> https://www.rei.com/blog/cycle/mammoths-trailblazing-path-for-electric-mountain-bikes


Thanks all of you for some great ideas.

I am definitely liking the Mammoth idea. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: I want a destination spot where I can hang out for 3-5 days then fly home.


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## cmc4130 (Jan 30, 2008)

rider95 said:


> Planning a trip there now


Good to know! I have also had a couple of people tell me that e-MTB's aren't allowed in a lot of NW Arkansas. Conflicting information.....


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## singletrackmack (Oct 18, 2012)

cmc4130 said:


> Thanks all of you for some great ideas.
> 
> I am definitely liking the Mammoth idea. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: I want a destination spot where I can hang out for 3-5 days then fly home.


Mammoth sounds great, but not really a major airport to fly into near by.



fc said:


> An incredible destination is the Downieville area in Northern CA. Soo many trails, and three adjacent towns.
> 
> Used to be mostly shuttle rides. But turns out to be perfect for ebikes.
> 
> It's near Lake Tahoe, mostly ebike legal


Downieville/Lake Tahoe could be a good option with the Reno airport about 45 min from Tahoe. Would be some traveling between Downieville and Tahoe though.

Fly into Reno, then head up to Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park and ride the bike trails in the Spooner Backcountry. Some trails have great views of the lake like the flume trail and you could even ride down to the lake to Sand Harbor and back up via tunnel creek road (dirt trail). Should be able to rent an embt in the area easily. You could camp one night at Marlette Peak Campground, then the next night stay at a casino. I recommend the Hyatt in Incline Village which puts you in Northlake and about an hour and a half from Downieville. For Downieville, I have never been, maybe FC can give some tips, but ride day and camp that night (my understanding is accommodations are not always easy to find in d-ville, but might be wrong on that).

Flume Trail with Sand Harbor about 1,600' below: 
(pic stolen from internet)


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## tuckerjt07 (Nov 24, 2016)

cmc4130 said:


> Good to know! I have also had a couple of people tell me that e-MTB's aren't allowed in a lot of NW Arkansas. Conflicting information.....


What parts did they say they weren't allowed in?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


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## sjfixed (May 24, 2010)

I've recently bought an eMTB and also searching for rides, since disappointed to find out most of my favorite trails around the south San Francisco area are banned. Anything Mid-Pen is not allowed, however, all Santa Clara County parks are allowed. So, Wilder Ranch - Santa Cruz, Henry Coe- Morgan Hill, Quicksilver - San Jose, Santa Teresa - San Jose are allowed. Wilder and Henry Coe are my next adventures, since they others many miles of trails.


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