Matthew Botos

I just got an email from the International Mountain Biking Association that mountain biking in Valley Forge park is being threatened:

Pennsylvania’s Valley Forge National Historic Park is proposing to close all mountain biking trails in its new management plan. Mountain bicyclists have ridden some park trails for nearly 20 years and have one final chance to provide comments on the draft management plan and keep trails open. The deadline for comments is April 6.

They also provided a direct link to the Park Service for comments. Here’s what I wrote:

As a neighbor, supporter, and volunteer of Valley Forge Park, I urge you to preserve access to the trails for ALL users, including hikers, walkers, equestrians, and mountain bikers. As a mountain biker, I have enjoyed having trails close at hand in an increasingly overdeveloped area and see a direct benefit to the health and happiness of everyone who can take advantage of them.

There are many challenges to maintaining multi-use trails, and mountain bikers are willing to work with park officials and other trail users to find a good solution for everyone. I have personally donated countless hours of my own time maintaining trails at Valley Forge and other parks, and will continue to do so wherever I ride.

Local mountain bike groups like the Jersey Action Riders have also successfully forged partnerships with groups such as the Fairmount Parks Commission and The Friends of the Wissahickon. Together, we have successfully run two fundraisers and donated thousands of dollars to trail restoration and improvement efforts at Wissahickon.

IMBA Trail Solutions has also become a key consultant in helping assess and redesign the trail system for the future. Finally, the Delaware Valley Mountain Bike Patrol has many volunteers who ride in an official capacity at Wissahickon, supplementing the park’s paid officials in a time of decreasing budgets.

Partnerships like these are a model of how the local mountain biking community can help you, be it with fundraising, planning, or physical trail work. Please keep the trails open to all those who enjoy them; we realize what a treasure we have and want to work with you to ensure they can be enjoyed well into the future.

If you ride in the park or just think that Valley Forge, of all places, should remain freely open to all trail users, please let them know by April 6.