CENTRE COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) — A long-awaited bike park from the Nittany Mountain Biking Association opened up in Centre County on Sunday, Hamer Bike Park. Something unique about the park is that organizers view as a "practice facility for mountain biking." Based off the size of the crowd, folks appeared to welcome it as an addition to the area.
It goes without saying that biking's pretty popular in Centre County. With all its natural beauty, who could blame people? However, this new park provides a new type of biking experience.
"Sort of the peak of the pandemic, we opened the mountain biking trails on property," Josh Stapleton, the project coordinator for the Harvest Fields Community Trails Project, recalled to 6 News. "And now here about three years later, we're getting ready to cut the ribbon on a super unique mountain biking skills park."
"It's wonderful. It's great," biking hobbyist David Ecklund from Philipsburg told us. "I can take my little kids out there, they can ride around. There's some more challenging things for me to hit."
"This is like the best thing that's happened," another hobbyist, William Tolton, exclaimed, "because I haven't seen this many people here since the trails were opened."
Saying the Hamer Bike Park was "a four-year passion project for a lot of folks in the community," Stapleton noted that the leadership of neighboring Calvary Church simultaneously saw this property as "a gift to the community."
What prompted him and others to start this project was a realization: "We don't have enough venues to get young people out adventuring, building confidence, building community."
"Cycling and especially mountain biking can be an almost solo activity at times," Rob Brawley, the president of the Nittany Mountain Biking Association, told 6 News. "So, to be out in a place where we have so many enthusiasts together, ranging in age from 4 to 70 all together, excited about the same thing, and see that excitement... is really unusual and unique."
Organizers say that's a big appeal of the new park: the fact that anyone of any skill level can ride here.
Gesturing behind himself to the mountains and hills of Rothrock State Forest, Ecklund pointed out, "That's too much for my children right now, so this is a good steppingstone for them till they get to a point where they can ride some of the more technical trails."
Although, that's not the only appeal. Tolton said the social effects of the pandemic still linger: "Nowadays since Covid's over, it's— not many people are getting outdoors again 'cause they're all used to going inside."
However, this is only phase one and two of the project. Thinking of the long term, Brawley mentioned adding some more features for riders and families, such as shade and benches. Stapleton brought up adding more trails up in the woods.
"The community can bring about things they want," Brawley emphasized. "If you want to have a unique jewel like this, which is, uh, unprecedented in the area, there's nothing like within probably 300 miles. Get your community together, get the volunteers together and you can do great things."
The park is open to the public from sunrise to sunset each day, except for when the ground is soft or muddy. It's located next to the parking lot for Calvary Church in Boalsburg, at Harvest Fields.
The Nittany Mountain Biking Association says they're in need of volunteers. If you or anybody you know are interested, the association details volunteerism opportunities on this webpage.
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