Elk County Riders ATV On/Off Road Recreation Club held its Ride into Summer event on Saturday, June 8 with 640 riders registered. Along the approximately 40-mile ride were dice rolls and stations where chances were being sold on more than 50 basket raffles, with all proceeds to benefit the “Trail of Dreams,” which is the Elk County Riders’ vision for the future.
Cheryl Ruffner, treasurer of the group, said, “The ride went quite well, and we had many attendees from a couple of hundred miles away. Everybody was well pleased with the trail ride, and all are looking forward to our next ride on Aug. 3.”
According to their website, the Trail of Dreams is an Elk County Riders’ initiative to connect the communities in Elk County through municipal roads and private land trails. In 2022, roads were opened from Elk County to Treasure Lake Cayman Landing in Clearfield County.
Recently, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) placed 20 new road signs along a portion of Route 555 in Benezette, from the Gray Hill area to the area across from the Benezette Store, opening 0.8 mile of that road to street-legal ATVs. The road will be open to ATV traffic from Memorial Day to the end of September.
According to Ruffner, volunteers are currently working on a trail connector behind the Byrnedale Little League field. Contractors have been working for some time on a 102-foot by 8-foot-wide bridge across Kersey Run that would connect the east and west sides of Route 255. The bridge has a tentative completion date of mid-August 2024. “Pedestrians will be able to safely access the bridge, and street-legal on or off-road vehicles, bicycles, dirt bikes or e-bikes will also be able to use it,” noted Ruffner.
She said that Rep. Mike Armanini (R-Clearfield/Elk) needs to be commended for being the liaison between the Elk County Riders and other agencies. “He was the critical link (in the bridge project). He was that piece that pulled us all together. We talked to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and he talked to them, and was able to get that final push and say move on. He really went above and beyond for us.”
DCNR recently awarded the nonprofit organization a grant in the amount of $420,000 for trailhead development on Boone Mountain. Ruffner explained that Elk County Riders ATV purchased 1.25 acres and applied for a grant to make that a trailhead. “So, Seneca Resources was our project partner in the beginning, and they cut down trees and we cleaned the area up. Then we received a grant from the commissioners for stone to add to the trailhead. Meanwhile we had received a grant from DCNR to the ATV trail fund to build a comfort station with both men’s and women’s bathrooms and improve the parking lot to get it ready to be a trailhead.” She added that money raised during the seasonal rides will be used to add a pavilion for people to use. Volunteers from Elk County Riders will be constructing the pavilion, and it will benefit all who wish to visit the Boone Mountain area.
At present, 46 miles of Elk County Riders ATV Trail of Dreams southern tier is connected. The trail will stretch as far as the Cayman Landing area of Treasure Lake.
Ruffner has seen the potential for the huge economic impact of opening up the Trail of Dreams and highlighting the treasures of the area such as the elk herd and the Elk Country Visitor Center, the many wineries and restaurants, as well as campgrounds and other lodging facilities. “We’ve been doing this for eight years, two of them in an unstructured way. Six years ago, we started a nonprofit organization and purchased some property. This is a huge accomplishment and one we are very proud of. The project is moving along great!”
