Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2012 6:51:06 GMT -5
Wouldn't this be cool if they go through with it?
www.dailymail.com/News/201205300090
Wednesday May 30, 2012
New park planned for W.Va. off-road trail system
by The Associated Press
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Officials who oversee West Virginia's expansive ATV trail system are looking to give a different type of rider an off-road thrill.
The Hatfield-McCoy Trail System is working toward construction of a park for Jeep- and Humvee-type users less than 20 miles south of Charleston. They are too wide for the system's more than 600 miles of trails that are open to all-terrain vehicles, dirt and mountain bikes, horses and hikers.
Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority Executive Director Jeffrey Lusk said the $200,000 project will be funded by the West Virginia Recreational Trails Program.
"There's not one of these in West Virginia," Lusk said Wednesday.
There are a few in the eastern U.S., but they are mostly in the West, he said.
"From what we can tell, there's some pretty big organizations that work with these guys for one-time events. We're trying to open up a trail system that they can use all the time," Lusk said.
The Rahall Transportation Institute at Marshall University handled the park's mapping and Lusk said the project is currently under environmental review. Once that's complete, a trailhead will be selected and construction will begin.
Kanawha County commissioners gave their approval to the project last week.
The park will be located near U.S. Route 119 along the Lincoln-Kanawha county border. Rather than drawing typical Hatfield-McCoy trail users, the new park is targeted for another set of riders who prefer to travel in groups, stay in hotels and take in local restaurants, nightlife and entertainment.
"They're a group that isn't looking for that rustic outdoor vacation, albeit they participate in an outdoor sport," Lusk said. "They aren't looking for that camping-cabin experience at night."
The Hatfield-McCoy system currently operates in six counties and attracts more than 30,000 visitors annually, mostly from out of state.
The new park just might bring in people like Clint Harris, who drives a 1995 Jeep and since 2001 has been president of the 35-member Appalachian Off-Road Club based in Abingdon, Va.
"I think that will drive a lot of tourism into the area," Harris said. "If you look at people like me, we move somewhere with our Jeeps. We usually take our families with us. We're looking at where can we go to and what can we do while we go there?' We usually don't just make it a day trip."
In rural, hilly southwest Virginia, finding an off-road playland can be difficult.
"You would think the area I live in, there would be tons of trails that we could go to," Harris said. "It's unfortunate. It's very hard to find."
Harris said it seems whenever his group finds new, quality trails, the operator shuts them down for one reason or another, including the cost of running it.
Harris said it's usually a minimum two-hour drive to get to an off-road site. He often visits Black Mountain Off-Road Adventure Area in Harlan, Ky., or the Coal Creek Off-Highway Vehicle Area in Oliver Springs, Tenn.
Harris, an active member of the National Guard, welcomed the news about the West Virginia Park, even volunteering his group to help with construction if that means getting it running sooner.
"I know most of the club would probably be interested in pitching in," he said.
The Hatfield-McCoy system offers breathtaking mountain views and off-road paths that are both gentle and challenging. Ridership has grown every year since the system opened in October 2000. A new section that opened last weekend in Mercer County offering up to 100 miles of trails and is located in proximity to Interstates 77 and 81.
Permits, which are good from the date of purchase through Dec. 31, cost $26.50 for West Virginia residents and $50 for out-of-state residents.
Lusk said permit sales so far this year are up 17 percent. And if the new park is successful, "we will contemplate building another site," he said.
www.dailymail.com/News/201205300090
Wednesday May 30, 2012
New park planned for W.Va. off-road trail system
by The Associated Press
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Officials who oversee West Virginia's expansive ATV trail system are looking to give a different type of rider an off-road thrill.
The Hatfield-McCoy Trail System is working toward construction of a park for Jeep- and Humvee-type users less than 20 miles south of Charleston. They are too wide for the system's more than 600 miles of trails that are open to all-terrain vehicles, dirt and mountain bikes, horses and hikers.
Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority Executive Director Jeffrey Lusk said the $200,000 project will be funded by the West Virginia Recreational Trails Program.
"There's not one of these in West Virginia," Lusk said Wednesday.
There are a few in the eastern U.S., but they are mostly in the West, he said.
"From what we can tell, there's some pretty big organizations that work with these guys for one-time events. We're trying to open up a trail system that they can use all the time," Lusk said.
The Rahall Transportation Institute at Marshall University handled the park's mapping and Lusk said the project is currently under environmental review. Once that's complete, a trailhead will be selected and construction will begin.
Kanawha County commissioners gave their approval to the project last week.
The park will be located near U.S. Route 119 along the Lincoln-Kanawha county border. Rather than drawing typical Hatfield-McCoy trail users, the new park is targeted for another set of riders who prefer to travel in groups, stay in hotels and take in local restaurants, nightlife and entertainment.
"They're a group that isn't looking for that rustic outdoor vacation, albeit they participate in an outdoor sport," Lusk said. "They aren't looking for that camping-cabin experience at night."
The Hatfield-McCoy system currently operates in six counties and attracts more than 30,000 visitors annually, mostly from out of state.
The new park just might bring in people like Clint Harris, who drives a 1995 Jeep and since 2001 has been president of the 35-member Appalachian Off-Road Club based in Abingdon, Va.
"I think that will drive a lot of tourism into the area," Harris said. "If you look at people like me, we move somewhere with our Jeeps. We usually take our families with us. We're looking at where can we go to and what can we do while we go there?' We usually don't just make it a day trip."
In rural, hilly southwest Virginia, finding an off-road playland can be difficult.
"You would think the area I live in, there would be tons of trails that we could go to," Harris said. "It's unfortunate. It's very hard to find."
Harris said it seems whenever his group finds new, quality trails, the operator shuts them down for one reason or another, including the cost of running it.
Harris said it's usually a minimum two-hour drive to get to an off-road site. He often visits Black Mountain Off-Road Adventure Area in Harlan, Ky., or the Coal Creek Off-Highway Vehicle Area in Oliver Springs, Tenn.
Harris, an active member of the National Guard, welcomed the news about the West Virginia Park, even volunteering his group to help with construction if that means getting it running sooner.
"I know most of the club would probably be interested in pitching in," he said.
The Hatfield-McCoy system offers breathtaking mountain views and off-road paths that are both gentle and challenging. Ridership has grown every year since the system opened in October 2000. A new section that opened last weekend in Mercer County offering up to 100 miles of trails and is located in proximity to Interstates 77 and 81.
Permits, which are good from the date of purchase through Dec. 31, cost $26.50 for West Virginia residents and $50 for out-of-state residents.
Lusk said permit sales so far this year are up 17 percent. And if the new park is successful, "we will contemplate building another site," he said.