Post by jstcrwl on Mar 16, 2014 14:00:45 GMT -5
Ivy Branch The first Report
This may get a bit long but I will share my experience at the new ORV trail system of the Hatfield/McCoy. I am going to split this into 3 sections to better describe my experience at this new place to go off-road. The sections will be Getting there, The organization, and the trails. I hope you can find some of this information helpful.
“Getting There” This is most likely the worst part of this new trail system. Ivy Branch is located about 25 miles south of Charleston West Virginia. Just for reference I decided to drive my Truck which has a four cylinder. Depending what you drive or if you trailer or not may change your travel times or cost. Anyways from my house in Windsor VA to the trail head it took me about 8 hours. I had to stop for fuel twice among a few other rest stops. Now for the fuel That I burned on the trip up: 27 gallons at a cost of $96.08. I burned 7 gallons of gas on the trail at a cost of $24.52. And the return trip 14 gallons (keep in mind I just parked the truck so I do not know how much I burned on the last leg of the journey) at $48.90. Which come up with a grand total of $169.50 for the whole trip. As I stated earlier it took about 8 hours for the drive up the return trip I made it in about 7-7 ½ hours. I guess gravity was on my side. I will mention how I drove the trip to conserve time. I departed Windsor VA about 9:00pm Thursday night drove thought the night with very little traffic. I arrived at Ivy branch about 5 AM Friday morning. This left me with two days to wheel (I ended up just wheeling one) and then be able to drive home Sunday during the day and get home around 4PM. This is just an idea to maximize your wheelin time but it may not work for everyone. Now I will apologize in advance for the next statement I will make. If you are a person that does not like to travel long distances or just likes to find fault in everything do your self a favor and stop reading now because you will most likely not like this place.
“The Organization” The trails are operated by the Hatfield and McCoy trails. I spent about 45 minutes asking the staff questions about the area. So if have a question that I did not mention please ask I may know the answer (or you may call them direct). They operate 8 trail systems across the southern half of West Virginia. As of now only one (Ivy Branch) is open to ORV (Jeep/Truck). The cost is $50 dollars per person per year. When you pay this you get a permit sticker to place on your helmet. Now on that subject yes you have to wear a helmet and Eye protection no matter what you are driving/riding. The good side is the permit is good for the year and it does not matter what vehicle you operate. For example I can get out of my truck and get on a dirt bike with no additional cost. Also you can go any day when every you want as much as you want. The trails are open from sunrise to sunset. Now if you want to move your permit sticker from one helmet to another the staff recommended that you bring you helmet to the info center so if the sticker does not survive the will give you another. Be warned if you try to do it your self and destroy the number so it is unrecognizable you will have to buy another. I will add that the staff is all very friendly and helpful (it’s strange having a community that wants you to go wheelin). Now what your 50 bucks gets you. You get access to all the trail systems (even thought Ivy Branch is the only one open to full size vehicles). Each system has a ranger and they have two full time maintained crews to repair and create trails. In addition the staff mentions that there are plans to open another ORV trail system about 5 miles from Ivy Branch (later this year).
“The trails” They are a lot of trails and they are very well marked, mapped and classified (most likely the best marked trails I have ever been on). First one of there important rules are that to be on a more difficult and most difficult trail your vehicle must have a roll cage. Since my truck does not have a roll cage that prevented me from running any of those trails not to mention I was by myself so that was another factor. Anyways I did enjoy ridding the two easier classes of trails with much enjoyment. Keep in mind I enjoy going off-road on easy trails just as much as the challenging ones. I spent about 8 hours and 7 gallons of gas exploring the trails. I will add that I did not run a single trail twice except for the trail head. There are still 25+ trails that I was not able to run. I did enjoy the trail a lot. They had trails going alone the peaks and trough the valleys. Even on the easy trails I found a few good climbs. You can find a copy of the trail map on their web site. The aspect that really appeals to me is this can take wheelin back to it basics which is get in the truck and go wheelin. Because you can decide to go tomorrow and you can. Now about the area. There are two campgrounds within a few miles that have accommodations for camping, RV’s and cabins. They are the little coal river campground and Big Earl’s. You can find information for those on the little coal river trail system web site (It is about 3 miles from Ivy Branch). Now 15 miles north you will find anything else you might need from a full blown hotel, restraunts etc. The truth is I stayed in a Holiday in express and it was 15 miles from the trail head. Now the roads to get there are all 4 lane divide highways till the last 3 miles that are two lanes. I think this will do it for now. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Also the people at the information office gave me a stack of brochures and trail maps of Ivy branch. I will be at the Virginia meeting next weekend and I will leave them out for anyone who wants them. If you have any question please feel free to ask or give the staff a call. As for my over all opinion of Ivy Branch is that I plan to order my roll cage in the next week or so. Although my trip was short I enjoyed my self very much.
I will see you on the trails!
Jim “JstCrwl” Villers
This may get a bit long but I will share my experience at the new ORV trail system of the Hatfield/McCoy. I am going to split this into 3 sections to better describe my experience at this new place to go off-road. The sections will be Getting there, The organization, and the trails. I hope you can find some of this information helpful.
“Getting There” This is most likely the worst part of this new trail system. Ivy Branch is located about 25 miles south of Charleston West Virginia. Just for reference I decided to drive my Truck which has a four cylinder. Depending what you drive or if you trailer or not may change your travel times or cost. Anyways from my house in Windsor VA to the trail head it took me about 8 hours. I had to stop for fuel twice among a few other rest stops. Now for the fuel That I burned on the trip up: 27 gallons at a cost of $96.08. I burned 7 gallons of gas on the trail at a cost of $24.52. And the return trip 14 gallons (keep in mind I just parked the truck so I do not know how much I burned on the last leg of the journey) at $48.90. Which come up with a grand total of $169.50 for the whole trip. As I stated earlier it took about 8 hours for the drive up the return trip I made it in about 7-7 ½ hours. I guess gravity was on my side. I will mention how I drove the trip to conserve time. I departed Windsor VA about 9:00pm Thursday night drove thought the night with very little traffic. I arrived at Ivy branch about 5 AM Friday morning. This left me with two days to wheel (I ended up just wheeling one) and then be able to drive home Sunday during the day and get home around 4PM. This is just an idea to maximize your wheelin time but it may not work for everyone. Now I will apologize in advance for the next statement I will make. If you are a person that does not like to travel long distances or just likes to find fault in everything do your self a favor and stop reading now because you will most likely not like this place.
“The Organization” The trails are operated by the Hatfield and McCoy trails. I spent about 45 minutes asking the staff questions about the area. So if have a question that I did not mention please ask I may know the answer (or you may call them direct). They operate 8 trail systems across the southern half of West Virginia. As of now only one (Ivy Branch) is open to ORV (Jeep/Truck). The cost is $50 dollars per person per year. When you pay this you get a permit sticker to place on your helmet. Now on that subject yes you have to wear a helmet and Eye protection no matter what you are driving/riding. The good side is the permit is good for the year and it does not matter what vehicle you operate. For example I can get out of my truck and get on a dirt bike with no additional cost. Also you can go any day when every you want as much as you want. The trails are open from sunrise to sunset. Now if you want to move your permit sticker from one helmet to another the staff recommended that you bring you helmet to the info center so if the sticker does not survive the will give you another. Be warned if you try to do it your self and destroy the number so it is unrecognizable you will have to buy another. I will add that the staff is all very friendly and helpful (it’s strange having a community that wants you to go wheelin). Now what your 50 bucks gets you. You get access to all the trail systems (even thought Ivy Branch is the only one open to full size vehicles). Each system has a ranger and they have two full time maintained crews to repair and create trails. In addition the staff mentions that there are plans to open another ORV trail system about 5 miles from Ivy Branch (later this year).
“The trails” They are a lot of trails and they are very well marked, mapped and classified (most likely the best marked trails I have ever been on). First one of there important rules are that to be on a more difficult and most difficult trail your vehicle must have a roll cage. Since my truck does not have a roll cage that prevented me from running any of those trails not to mention I was by myself so that was another factor. Anyways I did enjoy ridding the two easier classes of trails with much enjoyment. Keep in mind I enjoy going off-road on easy trails just as much as the challenging ones. I spent about 8 hours and 7 gallons of gas exploring the trails. I will add that I did not run a single trail twice except for the trail head. There are still 25+ trails that I was not able to run. I did enjoy the trail a lot. They had trails going alone the peaks and trough the valleys. Even on the easy trails I found a few good climbs. You can find a copy of the trail map on their web site. The aspect that really appeals to me is this can take wheelin back to it basics which is get in the truck and go wheelin. Because you can decide to go tomorrow and you can. Now about the area. There are two campgrounds within a few miles that have accommodations for camping, RV’s and cabins. They are the little coal river campground and Big Earl’s. You can find information for those on the little coal river trail system web site (It is about 3 miles from Ivy Branch). Now 15 miles north you will find anything else you might need from a full blown hotel, restraunts etc. The truth is I stayed in a Holiday in express and it was 15 miles from the trail head. Now the roads to get there are all 4 lane divide highways till the last 3 miles that are two lanes. I think this will do it for now. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Also the people at the information office gave me a stack of brochures and trail maps of Ivy branch. I will be at the Virginia meeting next weekend and I will leave them out for anyone who wants them. If you have any question please feel free to ask or give the staff a call. As for my over all opinion of Ivy Branch is that I plan to order my roll cage in the next week or so. Although my trip was short I enjoyed my self very much.
I will see you on the trails!
Jim “JstCrwl” Villers
