Times Observer file photo A rider climbs a hill at the Trails at Jakes Rocks. A Friday event will celebrate the trail system as Pennsylvania’s Trail of the Year.

The Trails at Jakes Rocks are set to be celebrated as the Trail of the Year on Friday.

The event, which is open to the public, will be at 10 a.m. at the main trailhead parking lot.

The trails have been open since 2016 but had been in development for years before that.

Is it fair to consider Friday’s ceremony a victory lap?

“Big time. It is a big deal,” Jim Decker, president/CEO of the Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry, said.

Friday’s event will include a host of speakers, including Congressman Glenn Thompson, DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn and the state’s Director of Outdoor Recreation, Nathan Reigner, among others.

A guided walk will follow the ceremony and light refreshments will be provided.

The concept originated with a Leadership Warren County class, which grew into the group Pennsylvania Kinzua Pathways. Since PKP disbanded in 2021, the WCCBI has managed the trails.

The development of 35 miles of trails has resulted in an “epic trail system,” Decker said.

That culminated earlier this year with the designation of the TAJR as the Pennsylvania Trail of the Year.

Decker said the recognition is an acknowledgment “the impact that the Trails at Jakes Rocks really has and will continue to have on the community and on the region.”

According to information from the Chamber, an economic impact analysis identified over 25,000 annually with $9 million in annual tourism spending.

Decker added that use of the system is up 14 percent year over year, as well.

The master plan for the trail system included a total of 47 miles.

“It was all in on this from the beginning,” Decker explained. “That is still the system mileage. We’ve built everything except the last 12 miles that parallels the reservoir” from the Kinzua Dam to Rt. 321.

Parts of that segment have been built but Decker said the whole 12 miles is “probably a $2 million built” due to water run off and topography challenges.

The designation as Trail of the Year should help with soliciting for future funding.

But it’s more significant than just the dollars and cents of building a trail.

“It sets us apart,” Decker said. “It puts us on the map not as a trail system. It puts us on the map as a region … which is all part of our pitch” to try to draw people to live and start businesses in the area.

The designation is also a proof of concept. People drive from hours away to come ride the trails.

While maintenance of the trail is a herculean task on its own, there are ideas for how the system can evolve and be enhanced.

Decker highlighted providing experiences for the adaptive and handicapped mountain biking community.

“That’s potentially a use we could look at,” he said.

There’s also a desire for amenities more generally.

Highlighting improvements made at several Forest Service sites, Decker said he’d like to see camping and commercial opportunity improvements.

“The numbers are tough to make work,” he said. “A lot of that is due to the fact that the infrastructure is gone.”

In the short-term, Decker said the access roads to the trailhead and parking lot are set for improvements in 2026.

A priority will be “improving the overall assets. Not everyone wants rustic camping. Somehow we need to figure out the funding to really bring that up to snuff.”