Todd Hershberger of Haymarket, Va., has been riding the trails for four years. On his most recent trip in March, he plowed his ATV through a giant, sloshing mud pit. It's not an official part of the trail, but it's too much fun for many riders to ignore. "I thought I was going to get stuck," he said, laughing about the experience as he wiped mud off his helmet and listened to his buddies' favorite trail stories. Hershberger and three friends make the eight-hour trip here once a year, then ride from dawn to dark.
"The trails change every year," he said. "The first year, some of the trails were rougher than they are now. Every year they change, and they add new trails, too, so it gives us more variety."
Though the trails are long, it's nearly impossible to get lost. Each is marked with a number and the other trails it intersects. Like ski slopes, they are also color-coded: Green are the easiest, blue are intermediate and black are the most difficult. Narrow orange trails are for motorcycles only. Most of the green trails are wide and generally smooth, maintained by gas companies that put the roads there years ago to get to their wells. Blue trails have tighter, uneven paths, more rocks and more obstacles to overcome, including fallen branches and mud holes. Black trails can be scary-steep, with massive boulders, more obstacles and heavy overgrowth.
Ken Shamy drove 650 miles from Monmouth Junction, N.J., to ride the 115-mile Browning Fork Trail for the second time. It's the longest of the trails, with terrain for all skill levels. "I just love it up here, just getting away. And the people are nice, too," he said.
Shamy was riding with Sam Rodriquez, who flew from Miami to Charleston, then rented a car for the two-hour drive south. "This is beautiful country," Rodriquez marveled. "God's country."
They and nine friends stayed at the Twin Hollow Campground, on the Browning Fork trail. You can camp, or rent four-person cabins with picturesque views for $99 a night.
Despite the remoteness of the trails, they have direct connections to towns offering food, fuel, hotels and motels. Some communities even allow ATVs on the street, as long as they bear a Hatfield-McCoy permit.
Expansion plans include a new visitors' center in Boone County, equestrian and hiking trails, partnerships with state parks and packages with whitewater rafting companies; as well as a new 70 mile trail for Offroad of Trucks and SUV's stated for completion in Early 2009. The trail will run over Coal Mountain, giving driver's deep rock terrain, two creeks, several mud pits, and four different Mountain tops to amasse on their journey well into Mingo County.
"I'd say they could make a killing if they had massage people set up here in the evenings," said Jessica Carpenter of Parkersburg, who rode the trail for the first time recently with her husband, aunt and uncle.
"I'm sore," she added, "but I had a blast."
