Helmet, and maybe a chiropractor, required for a pounding ride on Hatfield-McCoy Trails
By Tom Adkinson
July 12, 2024
A waterfall beside the Rockhouse Trail provides a scenic backdrop for this trio of side-by-side adventurers. Image by Tom Adkinson
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GILBERT, W. Va. – My group’s day on the Hatfield-McCoy Trails was like a protracted episode of the “Batman” TV series. “BAM!” “WHOP!” “BANG!” “ZAP!” “WHOA!!!”
We were in rugged off-road vehicles bouncing, splashing, sliding and careening on just a fraction of what the Hatfield-McCoy Trails program calls the largest trail system of its kind east of the Mississippi River. A dozen trails – with names such as Bearwallow, Rockhouse, Warrior and Braveheart – twist and turn for almost 1,000 miles through rugged backcountry of southern West Virginia.
Routes in the Hatfield-McCoy Trails system carry color-coded signs indicating degree of difficulty. Image by Tom Adkinson
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The off-road trail network opened in 2000 with three trails traversing approximately 300 miles. Users ride in all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), utility terrain vehicles (UTVs), off-road vehicles (ORVs) and off-road motorcycles.
A statue of Devil Anse Hatfield marks the grave of the feuding West Virginian. The family cemetery is a short hike off the Rockhouse Trail. Image by Tom Adkinson
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This isn’t a recreational activity for the faint of heart. Trail maps resemble guides to ski mountains. Green, blue and black lines that indicate difficulty of use and level of driving skill needed weave in and out across the ridges. Our ride – which was sufficiently rough – followed green lines for the most part, with a smattering of blue. I hesitate to think about challenging a trail marked in black ink.
Jason Mullins of the Rebel Smokehouse in the town of Mullens shows off a badge-of-honor t-shirt for Hatfield-McCoy Trails riders. Image by Tom Adkinson
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Getting dirty is a hallmark of a Hatfield-McCoy Trails day. As a souvenir shirt at the Rebel Smokehouse in the town of Mullens proclaimed, “If Mud Ain’t Flying, You Ain’t Trying.”
Our ride was with Twin Hollow Resort, a business spawned by creation of the Hatfield-McCoy Trails. It’s on a ridgetop above Gilbert and offers 11 cabins, 43 full-hookup campsites and hundreds of primitive campsites. It also maintains a 60-vehicle rental fleet.
Getting bounced around on a backcountry trail delivers the bonus of expansive West Virginia mountain views to admire. Image by Tom Adkinson
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Twin Hollow developer Cameron Ellis has watched the trail system introduce tourism as a new industry to a region long dependent on the vagaries of extracting coal, timber and natural gas. He said he is in the fifth generation of his family to live here.
“Side-by-sides (the multi-passenger vehicles my group used) made this industry explode. It previously was a guys’ activity on ATVs. Having two-seaters and four-seaters turned it into a family and couples’ activity,” Ellis said.
Rugged side-by-side vehicles await major cleanups before they can roll out the next day to get dirty all over again. Image by Tom Adkinson
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Popularity is easy to gauge because everyone on the Hatfield-McCoy Trails needs a permit ($26.50 for West Virginians and $50 for others). Trail administrators are on track to sell 100,000 permits in 2024. Of those, 90,000 will go to dusty, muddy and adrenalin-stoked visitors from outside of West Virginia.
Trip-planning resources: TrailsHeaven.com, VisitWV.com, GilbertCVB.com and WVtourism.com
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