Photo courtesy of Jeremy Bickling, Stratos Media 750 mountain bike riders - of varying ages - participated in last weekend’s Trails at Jakes Rocks Trail Fest. This year’s version of the event saw a 14 percent increase in participants compared to 2022.

The Trails at Jakes Rocks continue to prove the idiom “If you build it, they will come.”

About 750 mountain bike riders descended on Jakes Rocks and Kinzua Beach over the weekend for the annual Trail Fest.

“We had a fantastic weekend,” Jim Decker, president/CEO of the Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry, which coordinated the event, said. “The trails were in pristine condition.”

There are six trail counters on the Trails at Jakes Rocks system and comparing this year’s data to last year shows a 14 percent increase on Trail Fest weekend.

Organizers project about 750 riders took part in the event.

“The whole concept is to expand awareness of the trail system and support the regional community,” he said.

They know people that came in from all over the region spent the weekend at the Hampton Inn and at Airbnbs and campsites at Chapman State Park and eat in local restaurants.

“Those are the impetus behind it,” he said. “People come to town and they don’t hide in the woods.”

Over a dozen vendors participated in the event, which also included live music and shuttle services for riders. Decker said the other impetus for the event is to raise funds for the maintenance of the trail system.

“We’ve got a great asset,” he said, citing 20,000 plus people per year using the system.

Federal action to permit e-bikes – bicycles with pedal assist up to a certain speed – allowed e-bikes on the trails legally for the first time just before Trail Fest.

“I don’t think the prohibition made any significant difference,” Decker said, noting that some were using e-bikes on the trails anyway while others were “quasi-ignorant” that such bikes weren’t illegal to operate at TAJR.

Administrative Assistant Savannah Casey said she saw a lot of people using e-bikes and had people asking ahead of Trail Fest whether they were legal. Decker said that having zero interaction problems with 750 riders on the system “speaks to the whole issue.” Organizers are seeking feedback from attendees about how the weekend went, including whether it should potentially change dates. Decker said that’s an effort to “make sure we continue to improve the overall festival, make it bigger and better.

“At some point, you get to that critical mass. How do you get to the next level?”

“It was a really great weekend, for sure,” Casey said.