Hatfield-McCoy Trail marks 12th anniversary of Pocahontas Trail with media day ride

May 25—BRAMWELL — Motors roared as the dust and mud flew Thursday as riders celebrated the Pocahontas Trail's 12th anniversary of bringing the nation and the world to Mercer County.

The Pocahontas Trail, Mercer County's branch of the Hatfield-McCoy Trail, opened in Mercer County before Memorial Day 12 years ago. Executive Jamie Null of the Mercer County Convention and Visitors Center said the trail system is now a big part of the county's tourism industry.

Null drove the center's UTV and joined a caravan of other UTVs for a media event up the Pocahontas Trail. She said her favorite part of these rides is going through the mud holes.

She advised riders not to drive through mud holes that look stagnant because they have "stinky" water. Choose holes where the water looks fresh. If you have to go through a stinking hole, do it last.

"Do it at the end so you can go home and change," she said.

The UTVs left Bramwell Town Hall and headed for Simmons River Road and the entrance to Trail 10 of the Pocahontas Trail. Justin Caves, trail manager of the nearby Indian Ridge Trail, was driving one of the UTVs. He wasn't expecting a lot of mud.

"We shouldn't run into too much water today," he said over the engine's roar. "It's been pretty dry lately."

Soon the machines and their occupants were getting dusty with an occasional mud splatter. Caves sees a lot of frequent visitors.

"There's a lot of people who come here every weekend," he said. "Some come once a year."

Since the Pocahontas Trail links up with other branches of the Hatfield-McCoy Trails system — Indian Ridge, Pinnacle and Warrior — riders often spend the day riding. They might stop in Bramwell for lunch, then go to other towns such as Ashland and Pineville for dinner.

Caves and other trail managers see visitors from across the world. He recalled meeting people from the Czech Republic and the Ukraine.

"I believe we are one of the best trail systems worldwide," he said.

The UTVs soon reached an area called "The Playground" where riders can roar through mud pits and get themselves and their vehicles muddy at the same time. From there, they proceeded to the Pocahontas Trailhead center in Coaldale, which is off Route 52 near Bramwell.

Vince Nisbet, chief trail manager for the Pocahontas Trail, was one of the excursion's drivers. He regularly sees Canadian visitors and once met a father and son from Israel. It was the father's second trip on the Hatfield-McCoy Trail.

One of the people waiting for the riders was Chris Zeto, marketing consultant for Hatfield-McCoy Trail.

"We've had folks from all 50 states and about 15 different countries to come ride the trails," he said. "And last year we sold about 87,000 permits. Eighty-seven thousand people come to southern West Virginia and to ride the trails, but also to stay in our local communities, our local lodging facilities, visit our local restaurants and that's why we do what we do. We build and maintain the trails and sell trail permits, but everything else is up to the local communities; and that's what we do. We entice economic development."

About 18,000 of the passes sold in 2022 were sold in Mercer County. The Hatfield-McCoy Trails brings in visitors and stimulates economic development by creating investment opportunities, Zeto said.

"We want to put the trails in, but we want to see the local communities invest in themselves and to put in the lodging facilities, the restaurants, the museums, all of the other things that folks want to do while they're on vacation," he stated.

While being able to ride the ATV trails is a major part of local tourism, it's not the only reason people come to southern West Virginia.

"People are coming from all over. Obviously the main attraction is to go ride the trails. They bring their machines. Some folks rent their machines, but they ride the machines for a few hours during the day. Some folks will ride longer than others, but during the evening they're looking for other things to do; so that's when you can find a lot of our guests running around town in our local communities, visiting some of the museums," Zeto said. "They love learning about the history, so they're not only coming for the fun aspect of riding the trails, but they're also here to learn about the history."

"We've got great history in mining, especially in the Town of Bramwell with the history of the historic mansions and the millionaires who lived there at one time," he stated. "And in some of our areas, there's the history of the Hatfield-McCoy feud. People are always intrigued about the history of the area as well."

Bramwell Mayor Louise Stoker said that Bramwell was a destination before the Pocahontas Trail opened, but now more visitors are seeing the town's historic homes. After the ride, the guests had lunch at the Bramwell Corner Shop & Soda Fountain.

"It brings more people to Bramwell and they're now appreciating my home town that I have appreciated since birth," Stoker said. "I have personally met visitors from every state including Hawaii and Alaska."

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com