E-Bike Rules: California State Parks
The Department of Parks and Recreation has broader authority than any other California land agency: Veh. Code § 21207.5(c) lets it prohibit e-bikes, or any class of e-bike, on any bicycle path or trail within its jurisdiction — including Class I bikeways, which local agencies cannot reach. Its baseline policy: Class 1 may be designated for trails and controlled-access roads already open to bicycles; Class 2 and Class 3 are not allowed on trails or controlled-access roads. A 2025 trail-use policy added e-bikes to 40-plus dirt trails and roads at Folsom Lake and Auburn State Recreation Areas, which is more permissive than the baseline. Separately, State Parks OHV guidance confirms off-highway electric motorcycles cannot be converted to street-legal status.
The rules, line by line
| Subject | Rule | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory authority | "The Department of Parks and Recreation may prohibit the operation of an electric bicycle or any class of electric bicycle on any bicycle path or trail within the department's jurisdiction." Broader than the local-agency authority in § 21207.5(b), which reaches only equestrian, hiking and recreational trails. | Veh. Code § 21207.5(c) |
| Baseline policy | Class 1 may be designated for trails and controlled-access roads already open to bicycles. Class 2 and Class 3 are not allowed on trails or controlled-access roads. | not a code provision |
| Folsom Lake and Auburn SRA | A 2025 trail-use policy added e-bikes to 40-plus dirt trails and roads — more permissive than the baseline. | State Parks policy 690-012-2025 (Trail Use Policy — Folsom) |
| Annadel / Trione-Annadel State Park | E-bikes prohibited on trails, by superintendent's order. | no citation locatedCitation unconfirmed |
| Off-highway electric motorcycles | Per OHV Information Bulletin 25-1 (December 8, 2025): these are not e-bikes; operable only in designated OHV areas, on federal lands, or on private property with permission; prohibited on highways, streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, bike paths and off-street parking facilities. Green Sticker required on public lands; no driver's license required; and they cannot be converted to street-legal status. | Veh. Code § 436.1; OHV Bulletin 25-1 |
The authority point that matters
Veh. Code § 21207.5 gives two different powers, and the difference is easy to miss:
(b) — local agencies. "The local authority or governing body of a public agency having
jurisdiction over an equestrian trail, or hiking or recreational trail, may prohibit, by
ordinance, the operation of an electric bicycle or any class of electric bicycle on that trail."
(c) — State Parks. "The Department of Parks and Recreation may prohibit the operation of an
electric bicycle or any class of electric bicycle on any bicycle path or trail within the
department's jurisdiction."
Subdivision (b) is limited to three trail types and, on its face, does not reach a Class I bikeway. Subdivision (c) reaches any bicycle path or trail.
That distinction sits at the center of the biggest unresolved question in California e-bike law. As set out on the where you may ride page, an enormous number of paved multi-use paths are plausibly either a Class I bikeway (outside local ban authority) or a recreational trail (inside it) — and several of the strictest local rules in this survey depend on the answer.
State Parks does not have that problem. Its authority is express and covers both. Of all the trail restrictions documented on this site, State Parks' rest on the firmest statutory footing.
Class 1 has become the dividing line
State Parks' baseline — Class 1 may be designated, Class 2 and Class 3 may not — matches what nearly every land manager in California has converged on:
| Agency | Position |
|---|---|
| California State Parks | Class 1 may be designated; Class 2 and 3 not allowed on trails |
| EBRPD | Class 1 folded into "bicycle" (~850 mi); Class 2 on 20 listed paved trails; Class 3 banned |
| Sonoma County Regional Parks | Class 1 only |
| USFS Lake Tahoe Basin | Class 1 only, ~112 miles |
| Marin County Open Space | All banned; Class 1 under reconsideration |
| Marin Water (Mt. Tam) | Class 1 pilot on fire roads only |
| Midpeninsula | Class 1 and 2 at two preserves only; Class 3 banned |
| Santa Clara County Parks | Class 1 and 2 on paved and dirt; Class 3 banned |
| GGNRA (NPS) | Class 1 and 2 at 15/5 mph; Class 3 not accommodated |
The throttle is the line. Class 1 — pedal-assist only, 20 mph cutoff — is the category land managers will admit. A throttle changes the answer at Sonoma, Lake Tahoe, Marin Water and State Parks itself.
Which makes the Class 1 versus Class 2 purchasing decision the most consequential one a trail rider
makes, and one that state law treats as legally irrelevant — § 312.5 distinguishes them, but every
statewide rule on age, helmets and road access treats them identically.
Folsom Lake and Auburn went the other way
The 2025 trail-use policy (State Parks document 690-012-2025) added e-bikes to 40-plus dirt trails and roads at Folsom Lake State Recreation Area and Auburn State Recreation Area — more permissive than the department's baseline, and one of the clearest access expansions in the state.
This matters for the Sacramento region, where the surrounding picture is restrictive: Sacramento
County bans Class 3 from bicycle trails and caps bicycles at 15 mph under SCC § 9.36.066, and since
June 2026 can charge violations as misdemeanours. Folsom's own ordinances were still pending.
The e-moto guidance is the most useful document State Parks publishes
OHV Information Bulletin 25-1, issued December 8, 2025, implements Veh. Code § 436.1 from
SB 586, and it answers the question parents ask most often about the pedal-less electric dirt bike
they were sold.
An off-highway electric motorcycle — electric, two wheels, handlebars, manufacturer straddle seat, no pedals from the manufacturer — may be operated only:
- in designated OHV areas;
- on federal lands; or
- on private property with permission.
It is prohibited on highways, streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, bike paths and off-street parking facilities. A Green Sticker is required on public lands. No driver's license is required. And critically: it cannot be converted to street-legal status.
There is no paperwork that makes a Sur-Ron or Talaria legal to ride to school. Since January 1, 2026,
Veh. Code § 22651.08(a)(1) also allows a peace officer to impound such a device, minimum 48 hours,
when it can exceed 20 mph on motor power alone and the operator is unlicensed.
Common questions
Are e-bikes allowed in California State Parks?
Class 1 may be designated for trails and controlled-access roads already open to bicycles — so access depends on the specific park's designations rather than a blanket rule. Class 2 and Class 3 are not allowed on trails or controlled-access roads. State Parks has express authority for this under Veh. Code § 21207.5(c), which is broader than what local agencies get.
Can State Parks ban e-bikes from a paved bike path?
Yes, and this is where its authority exceeds everyone else's. Veh. Code § 21207.5(c) lets the Department prohibit e-bikes on any bicycle path or trail in its jurisdiction. Local agencies, under § 21207.5(b), may only prohibit them on equestrian, hiking and recreational trails — which leaves a genuine question about whether they can restrict a Class I bikeway. State Parks faces no such question.
Are e-bikes allowed at Folsom Lake or Auburn State Recreation Area?
Yes, more than the State Parks baseline would suggest. A 2025 trail-use policy added e-bikes to 40-plus dirt trails and roads at Folsom Lake SRA and Auburn SRA. That is a deliberate expansion beyond the department's general position that Class 1 may be designated and Class 2 and 3 may not use trails.
Can you make a Sur-Ron street legal in California?
No. State Parks OHV Information Bulletin 25-1, implementing Veh. Code § 436.1, states plainly that off-highway electric motorcycles cannot be converted to street-legal status. They may be operated only in designated OHV areas, on federal lands, or on private property with permission, and are prohibited on highways, streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, bike paths and off-street parking facilities. A Green Sticker is required on public lands; no driver's license is.