Over 500 mountain bikers descended on the Trails at Jakes Rocks this week for the Jakes Rocks Trail Fest. Riders came from this region — Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Cleveland — but also from much further including Cincinnati, Washington DC and New Jersey.

The “If you build it, they will come” mantra has been a clear hallmark of the development of the Trails at Jakes Rocks.

That certainly rang true this weekend at Jakes Rocks Trail Fest.

“The trail festival went extremely well this year,” John Papalia, the Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry’s director of chamber operations and tourism said. “We had over 500 mountain bikers take part in the festival, and the majority of them were from out of town making a weekend of it in Warren County.”

And “out of town” in this instance really means out of town.

Papalia said he talked to mountain bikers from the region — Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Cleveland — but also places including Cincinnati, Washington DC and New Jersey.

“The event was steady with riders all three days, and the vendor village area we set up at the trailhead parking area was ideal for riders to check in, grab some food and explore the different bike vendors we had,” Papalia said.

We were fortunate to work with some key partners such as the Northern Allegheny Mountain Bike Club which manned an informational tent, helped to unload bikes from shuttles, and led organized rides and clinics throughout the weekend which were extremely popular,” he added. “I am grateful to all the volunteers that helped make this event a success, and to all the sponsors and members of the chamber who enable us to continue to serve our community and host events such as this.”

And plans are in the works for 2022.

“We are already looking forward to next year and exploring how we can improve and expand the event,” he said.