Dear Action Line,
I’ve noticed that some trails in Durango allow e-bikes while others don’t. This is different from other places I’ve been. Can you explain why and where e-bikes are allowed? – Signed, Electric
Dear Electric,
Electric bikes or electric pedal assist bikes as they are sometimes called are undoubtedly popular. You see them all over the place, like the Animas River Trail. You also see them in places where they are not allowed to go, possibly because Durango’s e-bike rules can get confusing.
To start, e-bikes are allowed on all paved trails in the city of Durango, which includes paths like the Animas River Trail as well as the widened sidewalks along Goeglein Gulch Road and Florida Road. These paths are open to both Class I and Class II e-bikes, which refer to the speed of the bikes and how much assistance is given by the motor.
Things get confusing when talking about e-bike use on dirt trails, or natural surface trails, as the city calls them. The city’s Natural Resources Manager Owen Tallmadge explained that trails in Durango crisscross a variety of lands managed by different agencies, which all have different rules.
Class 1 e-bikes are allowed on the trails at Twin Buttes and Durango Mesa Park. But if you are riding an e-bike at Durango Mesa Park, don’t ride into Horse Gulch, where they aren’t allowed.
This is because Horse Gulch – as well as Dalla Mountain Park and Overend Mountain Park – includes portions of land that are under conservation easements that do not allow the use of e-bikes in the open space. Those lands were purchased with Great Outdoors Colorado grant funding, and that funding requires conservation easements, Tallmadge said.
At one point, the city did look at potentially changing the conservation easements to allow for e-bike use, but Tallmadge said it found it would be “a lengthy and legally arduous process with uncertain outcomes.”
This means that the conversation around changing the easements has ran out of battery power.
Here are the rules around e-bike use on state and federally managed lands, Tallmadge said:
- Colorado Parks and Wildlife lands: Class I and II e-bikes are allowed anywhere a regular bicycle is allowed.
- U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management: E-bikes are allowed on any trail that allows for motorized use. Federal rules allow for local exceptions for e-bike use on nonmotorized trails, but the default is they are not allowed.
Now you know where to ride your e-bike and a bit about the backstory as to why things are a little confusing. Feel free to e-bike at Twin Buttes, for instance. Just don’t ride your motorcycle, moped or other two-, three- or four-wheeled motorized contraption on the Animas River Trail – those are still not allowed.
Submit questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail questions to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301.
