Mountain Biking may be permitted in National Parks, but the process to gain access is more challenging than it is on other Federal, non-Wilderness, lands.
Gaining legitimate, long term access to National Parks requires congressional approval, literally an act of Congress. The effort to eliminate this rule and give Park managers final say regarding access is still under way, Bush just gave it a nudge forward. IMBA has worked hard to make this rule change happen in a way that is legally defensible, because there will be lawsuits if it happens. NPS brass generally supports the rule change, but special interest groups have fought it. Recent economic and political issues have put the rule change on the back burner, but IMBA is still applying pressure to make it happen.
The existing riding in some National Parks (Mammoth Cave, for example) is part of a pilot program to determine the viability of mountain biking (and to be specific, this is riding a bike on narrow trails, what we'd call singletrack. Bikes are generally allowed on dirt roads in National Parks). Technically, the access could be lost at almost any time for almost any reason, but Park managers have seen that the presence of mountain bike trails increases park attendance and gives the park relevancy to a new, and large user group, so they seem quite happy to have it.
The exciting bit in all of this is that the NPS is becoming very interested in mountain biking. Currently, IMBA is working with many NPS units to create permanent access for mountain bikes. Some of these places include Rocky Mountain National Park (which is not entirely Wilderness), New River Gorge, Mammoth Cave, Chattahoochee River, Big South Fork, and Big Bend.
- Ryan