Mt. Tam Watershed Access
Project Status: “We Are Legal”
As of July 1, 2025, class 1 “pedal-assist” e-bikes are finally officially legal everywhere on MMWD watershed fire roads that traditional bicycles are allowed. We believe we’ve been legal since at least 2015 when California law classified e-bikes as bicycles, not motor vehicles. But now everyone agrees, including the anti-bicycle groups led by Marin Conservation League which threw in the towel when their legal challenge proved insufficient.
This victory comes after six years of advocacy by E-Bike Access with the Marin Water District. Even though e-bikes have been prevalent on the fire roads for years, it is called a “pilot program” and is said to be designed to collect data via “trail counters,” visitor surveys and a “bat study” to help evaluate whether to allow e-bikes permanently after the two-year pilot.
To ensure that the pilot becomes permanent, it is more important than ever that cyclists continue to set good examples of courteous riding and eschew poaching, and that everyone participate in the visitor surveys that will determine the fate of the pilot program.
More information is available on the MMWD website.
Next Steps
Participate in updating of MMWD Road and Trails Management Plan to ensure fair treatment of e-bikes
Monitor “pilot program” to ensure fair evaluation
Monitor development of single-track pilot to ensure e-bike access