Kentucky Club creates major trail system
May 27, 2005 – A lot of credit goes to the Harlan County Ridge Runners ATV Club in Evarts, Kentucky, for the creation of trails, and other quad clubs can learn some lessons.
The club, with 200 members, has created a trail system on 7,000 acres of reclaimed coal land. The trail system has loops of 45 miles to 150 miles, with no backtracking.
How did the club do it?
Harlan County leased the land from the landowner with the idea of turning it into an off-road park to promote tourism. The Ridge Runners have worked hard to create trails, joined by the Kentucky Mountain Crawlers, which is a Jeep and truck rock-crawling club.
The county hopes to get another 30,000 acres to make it an even bigger park. The park isn't officially open, but people are already riding the area with the help of the Ridge Runners.
The park probably will officially open in early summer. The county hopes that an influx of ATV riders will translate into money spent for hotels, meals, gas, ATV repairs and all the other things that quadders need while out riding.
The terrain includes rocky hillsides, cutback hollows, flat muddy areas, rutted roads and even dense forest—terrain to challenge all skill levels.
The area has received rave reviews from out-of-staters who have already ridden it.
Dirtbikes are allowed as well as quads and four-wheelers.
The Harlan County Ridge Runners ATV Club believes in treading lightly on the land, preserving the environment, and keeping the forest free of litter.
The club notes that the people in the Kentucky mountains are very friendly and welcome ATV riders.
The club also notes that the towns are very ATV friendly. Just be sure to obey the traffic laws when you ride through them.
The club suggests you e-mail or call for a free guided tour.
For more information, go to the Harlan County Ridge Runners ATV Club website at www.kyoutdoors.com/hcrr/index.htm.