I love the "locals only" nature of jump trails and secret freeride spots. It gives people a reason to get out there, be social, make friends, and become a *part* of something rather than everything becoming a homogenized, instantly-accessible-on-the-internet commodity. There's definitely merit to having to "earn" access, rather than just researching it.
Public jumps are a great introduction to jumping, and probably a good place to meet other like-minded folks when you're ready to step it up to something bigger and private. Due to liability concerns, no public jumps around here will ever rival the really good locals spots.