CLEVELAND, Ohio — Now you can ride an electric bicycle in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, thanks to a change announced Friday in a nationwide policy.

You can also try out an e-bike for free Thursday at an event showcasing the change at the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad’s Peninsula Depot. Speaking there will be Rob Wallace, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the U.S. Interior Department.

Cuyahoga Valley spokesperson Pamela Barnes said her park was picked for the showcase because its Towpath Trail draws many bicyclists. Also, the Cuyahoga Valley has already put the new policy into effect, ahead of some other parks, though hers and others are still working out some details.

E-bikes are being allowed on the Towpath Trail and on roads in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, under a new nationwide policy.Grant Segall, | The Plain Dealer

E-bikes have motors of less than 750 watts. The parks are allowing Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes but not Class 3.

Classes 1 and 2 add power until the bike reaches 20 miles per hour. Class 3 adds power until 28 miles per hour.

The National Park Service is allowing e-bikes wherever it already allows bikes. In the Cuyahoga Valley, that means the Towpath and all roads, which belong to local communities.

E-bicyclists must pedal on the Towpath or other bike paths in national parks. But they rely solely on their motors on park roads open to motor vehicles.

Last Friday, Deputy Director P. Daniel Smith of the National Park Service, said of e-bikes, “They make bicycle travel easier and more efficient, and they provide an option for people who want to ride a bicycle but might not otherwise do so because of physical fitness, age, disability, or convenience, especially at high altitudes or in hilly or strenuous terrain.”

Cuyahoga Valley’s Barnes asks Thursday’s visitors to arrive by 11:15 a.m. Wallace will speak at 11:45 a.m. The e-bike showcase will run from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The Lock 29 trailhead parking lot will be closed. The lot at the Peninsula Depot, 1630 Mill St., will accommodate handicapped vehicles but limited numbers of other vehicles. Barnes encourages visitors to park elsewhere and hike or bicycle to the depot. The nearest other lot is at Deep Lock Quarry, 5779 Riverview Rd., about a mile away on the towpath.

At the showcase, bicyclists can lock up their normal bikes at the event before borrowing e-bikes.