Hatfield-McCoy Recreation Trail: A Major Tourism Boon for McDowell County

All-terrain vehicle enthusiasts in the region will soon be able to connect to a professionally designed and regulated trail system if all goes as planned this summer for McDowell County .

It seems that crews with the Hatfield-McCoy Recreation Trail are ready to begin construction at a day's notice on the next 150 miles of the trail system planned for McDowell County . However, the only stumbling block currently facing the authority is the fact that all of the remaining land license agreements haven't been signed and returned, Mike Pinkerton, marketing director for the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreational Authority, told me last week.

However, Pinkerton is optimistic that the agreements will be finalized soon, adding the authority members are “checking the mail everyday” in hopes of getting all of the signed license agreements returned. As soon as they are in hand, he said the next 150 miles of the trail system can be constructed in 90 days or less in McDowell County . By adding McDowell County , the vast trail network would be expanded to 650 miles. It's currently operational along 500 miles of land in Mingo, Logan , Wyoming , and Boone counties.

The goal of the authority is to have the McDowell County trails segment open by this fall, which is the peak riding period for ATV enthusiasts across the nation. With more than 25,000 AT riders currently using the existing 500 miles of the trail system, this basically means that McDowell County may soon be seeing an influx of thousands of riders, visitors and tourists as early as this fall. I hope county officials are ready for what could be an overwhelming tourism boon for McDowell County .

Pinkerton said a trailhead site in McDowell County is planned for the Ashland community near the borders of Mercer, McDowell, and Wyoming counties, and near the site of a large campground project currently under construction in anticipation of the approaching influx of ATV riders.

Pinkerton remains optimistic about meeting the fall deadline, adding that officials are “actually right on schedule.” Hopefully, the remaining land agreements can be finalized in time to allow officials to begin construction on the trail network soon, as June arrives tomorrow. In order to have the trial open by late September, work will have to begin relatively soon.

There could be more good news on the way for the region courtesy of the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreational Authority. Pinkerton said the agency is proposing a $500,000 visitors center in Boone County with plans for a second visitors center in the southern end of the trail system along U.S. Route 52, possibly in either McDowell or Mercer counties.

--Charles Owens (Bluefield Telegraph)