Ever heard of Raystown Lake? Most residents of the Allegheny Mountains have and know that it’s near Huntingdon.
Some are aware that it is the largest lake within Pennsylvania (that is, not counting Lake Erie), and that it is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Fishers know about its striped bass, and power boaters know they can run any size of boat there.
But few may realize that thousands of people have been going to Raystown annually for the past several years who have very little – if any – interest in the lake. These are mountain bikers, and they go to Raystown for the Allegrippis Trails – a 32-mile network of trails on the hillsides above the lake that are more like a rollercoaster through the woods than typical Eastern mountain-biking trails.
Typically, Eastern trails are “technical,” which means they require some bicycling skills and a slower pace to negotiate their “rock gardens” and log crossings. But the Allegrippis Trails are free of such obstacles and enable a faster, flowing kind of ride that’s a fun change-of-pace for Eastern riders.
While USACE personnel don’t have accurate usage counts, their indicators are impressive: The Baker’s Hollow Parking lot – just one of the parking areas for the trails – gets 20,000 to 25,000 visits annually, Park Ranger Allen Gwinn told me.
An annual mountain biking festival there called “Dirtfest” is growing and drew 3,000 registrants in 2015. It’s not unusual for mountain bikers to make an eight-to-10-hour drive to ride at Raystown.
“That’s just to come and ride the trails,” said Ranger Gwinn. “Some don’t realize there’s a lake here.”
Ever heard of Quemahoning Lake? It’s not as well-known as Raystown, but then again it’s not as big and hasn’t been in the recreation business as long.
Originally, Quemahoning was a water-supply reservoir for the Bethlehem Steel Company’s mills in Johnstown. The company sold it to a public “Cambria Somerset Authority” in 2000.
Since then, Quemahoning has become quite a recreation site in its own right. There’s a large summer camp for high-school kids; a campground; a family recreation area with picnic shelters, a swimming beach, playground and a boat launch; a warm-water fishery; and non-gasoline-powered boating.
There’s also a large water-release valve in the bowel of Quemahoning Dam that emits enough water to enable white-water boating on the Stonycreek River just downstream. And there’s a hiking trail on a portion of the 3,300 acres that surround the lake.
Now in 2016, Quemahoning is going to gain another recreation asset: a mountain-bike trail that will be modeled – at least somewhat – after Raystown’s Allegrippis Trails. Work is starting almost immediately on an initial six miles; eventually, it will loop for 17 miles around the lake and connect side trails over a total of 30 miles.
The Que trail’s designer, Clark Fisher of FisherWorks Consulting, also was involved with the development of the Allegrippis Trails; another contractor, Rich Maher of Maher Contracting, is an avid mountain biker himself; and much of the labor will be provided by volunteers of the Laurel Highlands On- and Off-Road Bicycling Association (LHORBA).
To say that there’s excitement within the Johnstown area bicycling community would be a mild understatement. But residents of the Alleghenies should regard this as good news as well.
Our region is becoming increasingly rich in recreational resources. First, that benefits us, because these resources are in our backyard.
However, as we offer more recreational opportunities, more people will come to the Alleghenies from greater distances. Some will stick around longer. And that’s potentially good news for every business here that benefits from the travel industry.
Whether they are coming for the trails, the lakes, or something else, what’s important is that they are hearing about the Alleghenies – and increasingly finding what they enjoy here.