American's newest bike park opens in Pennsylvania

Vertical Earth became the newest mountain bike park in the US on Saturday, when it opened at Blue Mountain Ski Area in Palmerton, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. The facility will host the next round of the Gravity East downhill series on September 25-27. This past weekend, it hosted a US$500 Jump Jam as part of its grand opening.

The facility features two jump parks, a pump track, eight new trails and a Neko Mullally-designed dual slalom course.

"We've been trail building seven days a week since April," said Vertical Earth President Dan Whitehead. "For the remainder of this season, we'll be open as part of Blue Mountain's Adventure Saturday's from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm."

"Next year, we'll expand with more trails, cross country facilities, rental bikes and a full schedule. We're even planning to bring cross country races to the trails we've already started building to compliment the gravity riding we already have." The ski resort is looking to mountain biking as a way to expand its year-round operations.

Blue Mountainis located half an hour north of Allentown, Pennsylvania, and two hours from both New York and Philadelphia. For more information, visit www.skibluemt.com or www.verticalearthpa.com.