If you’ve ever ridden an electric bike, then you know how enormously fun it can be. Steep-hill and strong-headwind suffer fests are transformed into joy rides, and mundane errands, like running to the grocery store or the bank, become events to look forward to. Best yet, thanks to brisk sales and increasing marketplace competition, e-bikes are getting more affordable every day. For all these reasons and more, e-bikes have become fixtures in cities, towns, and neighborhoods across America. Including, of course, right here in Park City.

Know Before You Go

Dozens of bike shops throughout Park City and Kimball Junction sell e-bikes in styles ranging from beefy cargo- and kid-carrying commuters to high-performing, full-suspension mountain bikes (eMTBs) and sleek, lightweight road and gravel bikes. A great place to begin the e-bike buying decision-making process is getting familiar with these bikes’ three classes:

Class 1 e-bikes provide pedal assistance only, no throttle, up to 20 miles per hour. Most municipalities treat Class 1s like traditional bikes (with exceptions) and this is the most common class eMTBs (e-mountain bikes) fall into. 

Class 2s, equipped with both pedal assist and a throttle, allow the rider to accelerate with or without pedaling up to 20 miles per hour and are popular with commuters, who find the throttle handy when a faster start is required for, say, moving through an intersection when the light turns green. 

Class 3 e-bikes are basically the same as Class 1s, but they max out at 28 miles per hour—the fastest an e-bike can go without being classified as a motorcycle. Consider this class if you’re a road cyclist or gravel biker who likes to cover a lot of ground. 

Where You Can and Cannot Ride E-Bikes in PC

Within the Park City limits, Class 1 and 2 e-bikes are permitted on soft-surface trails wider than five feet and on all paved multiuse paths. E-bikes are prohibited on the city’s singletrack trails and soft-surface trails narrower than five feet—except for Class 1 e-bike riders ages 65 and older and those with mobility disabilities. For riders who fall into the exception categories—and who’d like to avoid the heckling potential that comes with riding an e-bike on singletrack in Park City—Park City Municipal’s Courtesy Tag Program allows e-bike riders to qualify for a sticker communicating their compliance. Park City trail and paved pathway maps can be found at mountaintrails.org.

Within the Snyderville Basin Recreation District—the trails and paved pathways located north of Park City proper—Class 1 and 2 e-bikes are allowed on soft-surface trails wider than five feet and on all paved multiuse paths, but are not allowed on singletrack trails, no exceptions. “Most of our trails are multiuse with limited sightlines and were not built for e-mountain bike use,” says Dana Jones, district director for Basin Recreation. (See the list of trails and multiuse pathways managed by Basin Recreation.) Class 3 e-bikes are only allowed in roadway bike lanes throughout Park City and Snyderville Basin.

The city and basin’s respective trail systems are staffed with rangers tasked with providing education about lawful trail usage but are not empowered to write tickets. But that doesn’t mean that the rules governing e-bike usage are without teeth: Park City Police can charge those who choose not to follow the rules with a Class B misdemeanor. And if you’re considering using an e-bike to ride one of Park City’s most beloved mountain bike rides, the Wasatch Crest Trail, think again. This singletrack route runs through e-bike-prohibited US Forest Service lands. 

There are, however, many top-notch trails in the Park City area where e-mountain bike riders are welcome to take a spin. Rent one of Deer Valley’s new Intense Cycles eMTBs and you can pedal it along all 60 miles of the resort’s in-boundary singletrack. The Sparky trails, at the Clark Ranch east of Highway 40, and the SkyRidge Trails, located north of the Jordanelle Reservoir, were built by Mountain Trails Foundation to be eMTB friendly specifically. E-bikes are also allowed on all Wasatch County trails and on most South Summit Trails Foundation trails.

E-Bike Etiquette

All the kindnesses and courtesies expected of traditional bike riders—using hand signals to indicate a turn on the road, outfitting your two-wheeled ride with a bell, yielding to uphill cyclists and all pedestrians, etc.—also apply to e-bike riders, plus a bit more. E-bikers should, according to Park City Municipal guidelines, yield to all other trail users, regardless of the direction of travel. Meaning, if an e-biker wants to pass another rider, he or she should wait until there is a safe opportunity to do so rather than asking the other rider to stop and let them by. “One trail user type, whether e-bike riders or ‘analog’ cyclists, should not endanger or diminish the outdoor experience for any other type of trail user,” says Lora Anthony, Mountain Trails Foundation executive director. “Really, it comes down to situational awareness and common courtesy. Rules and philosophy are only as useful as the good manners of the trail users themselves.” 

Where to Rent E-Bikes Around Town  

White Pine Touring
1790 Bonanza Dr, 435-649-8720

Cole Sport 
1615 Park Ave, 435-649-4806

Jans 
1600 Park Ave, 435-649-4949

Storm Cycles 
1153 Center Dr, 435-200-9120

Silverstar Ski & Sport
1825 Three Kings Rd, 435-645-7827

Bingham Cyclery
3156 Quarry Rd, 888-611-2453