11 years of trail-riding: Hatfield-McCoy heading into second decade with strong start

Apr. 30—BRAMWELL — On May 25, the Hatfield-McCoy Trail will start its second decade of bringing ATV tourism dollars and economic stimulus to Mercer County and the surrounding area.

On Memorial Day Weekend this year, the Hatfield-McCoy Trail's branch in Mercer County, the Pocahontas Trail, will mark its 11th anniversary. Since its opening, the Pocahontas Trail has attracted ever increasing numbers of ATV tourists and inspired the creation of new lodging, restaurants and other businesses designed to meet their needs.

Jeffrey Lusk, executive director of the Hatfield-McCoy Recreational Authority, said that the holiday weekend is the anniversary of opening the Pocahontas Trail and connecting the Town of Bramwell and surrounding communities to the ATV system. New businesses started appearing as ATV enthusiasts started to arrive.

"We've had a tremendous amount of investment," Lusk said. "We really hope to see a continued increase in investments."

The Town of Bramwell and the recreational authority host a media ride to celebrate the Pocahontas Trail's anniversary. It's the only system where the opening is actually celebrated, Lusk stated.

"It will be 11 years on May 25," Mayor Louise Stoker said. "It's been wonderful for the town and this whole area. It's opened up all these other places. Montcalm. Bluewell."

Using former coal mining land owned by Pocahontas Land Corporation has allowed for the trail's opening. Riders from all 50 states have visited Mercer County.

"The reuse of that land for outdoor recreation has been marvelous," Stoker said.

The Hatfield-McCoy Trail has seen new ridership records every year. Even when the trail was shut down for about six weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership quickly rebounded. Lusk said the authority has seen a "flattening" or slowing of trail permit sales since gasoline prices rose to about $4 a gallon and the prices for goods such as groceries have increased, but the numbers are still what they were this time in 2021, which was a record year.

Gasoline prices and inflation takes away from vacation spending, Lusk said. The last available dollars in a household's budget are usually the ones spent on vacations.

"I think we're seeing is a trend everywhere in tourism," he stated.

ATV riders usually haul their machines in trailers towed by large pickup trucks. The cost of the gas needed for commuting to and from southern West Virginia could make them pause when thinking about making the trip.

Other vacation venues such as Lake Norman in North Carolina and Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia offer storage facilities for boats and trailers, Lusk said. This saves money and time on hauling boats to and from home. The same concept would work in southern West Virginia by giving riders facilities where they can store their ATVs, trailers and even campers.

"That would help a ton," Lusk said. "We (trail system) are 21 years old and we haven't matured to the point where we have that infrastructure. That's the next step for us. It would help mitigate things like high fuel prices."

Lusk said that while trail permit sales have flattened, the trend was expected.

"And that's good," he said. "These prices won't last forever."

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com