JACKSON, Wyo. — Grand Teton National Park announced today that electric bicycles (e-bikes) are now allowed everywhere traditional bicycles are allowed in Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier National Parks. They will also be allowed on pathways in the National Elk Refuge that connect to Grand Teton.

The announcement follows an order from the U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary signed August 29 and subsequent policy update from the National Park Service.

“As more Americans are using e-bikes to enjoy the great outdoors, national parks should be responsive to visitors’ interest in using this new technology wherever it is safe and appropriate to do so,” said National Park Service Deputy Director P. Daniel Smith in a press releast August 30. “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.

E-bikes are low-speed electric bicycles with power assistance. The operator of an e-bike may only use the motor to assist pedal propulsion. The motor may not be used to propel an e-bike without the rider also pedaling, except in locations open to public motor vehicle traffic. Motorbikes with a throttle are not e-bikes. All bicyclists must obey speed limits and any other state traffic laws.

The same rules apply to e-bikes as traditional bikes: e-bikes are not allowed in designated wilderness, in areas managed as wilderness, or on oversnow roads in the winter.

The managers of these public lands retain the right to limit, restrict, or impose conditions of bicycle use and e-bike use in the future in order to ensure visitor safety and resource protection.

Brush up on biking rules and recommendations in Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and the National Elk Refuge.