I need some help planning a trip

Hey Guys,

I am ready to plan a trip down to HM in the July / August time frame. I live in the Philly area so it will be a long haul and I want to make sure we take advantage of the time we spend. We will be riding 2 days. I have a 4 seater Teryx and have 2 young children coming along. My questions are which trail system should we ride and where should we stay? I like to put the miles on and want something UTV friendly but not so easy that it gets boring. Considering we will ride 2 days what do you guys think. Thanks in advance as your suggestion will be how I plan my tripp.

I'd suggest staying in the Ashland Area, where you have easy access to three trail systems; Pinnacle Creek, Indian Ridge and the newly opened Pocahontas system. In my experience, with my wife and 16 year old daughter riding along with me on their quad, the green trails of all 3 systems are a good place to start, differing terrain, some hills, some rocky areas, some smooth trails. Then step up to the blues and blacks as you get comfortable. Not knowing your riding expereince/skill level (no offense), it's kind of hard to recommend any outlaw trails. Plenty of Hatfield McCoy trails in that area to keep you busy for 2 days. I'm sure you'll find somebody on here that will be up there when you are and will be glad to show you around. Good luck and enjoy. Once you ride there, you'll have a hard time going back to your normal riding area.

I would suggest staying at the Ashland ATV Resort and riding the Indian Ridge and Pinnacle Creek Hatfield McCoy Trails.

http://www.atvresort.com/

Have fun!

They both gave you some of the best info on H/M trails! all 3 systems are close to the Ashland resort area and being new to the are there will be someone in the campground to hook up with or some members in nearby campground that might be in the hills that time also. The new Pocohontas system has lots of green trails, ride over to Bramwell where you can get a great meal at and the next day you can ride Indian Ridge system into Northfork and Keystone and then take Pinnacle system over to Pineville. All 3 of these trail connect to each other which makes it a great area to ride. Good luck and get your reservation in at Ashland resort for a cabin in advance and post up when the time get near and someone will most likely report back that they might be areas at the same time.

Stay at Ashland resort if u can get reservation(call soon as possible gets booked fast ) 1 room would accommodate u no problem , but if u are needing more privacy , a 2 room cabin might be better! These 2 options I mention have A/C and heat but no bathroom ( bath house is very close and clean! If u would rather have a bath in cabin , u can spend more $ and have privacy plus shower and toilet ! U will pay considerably more for convenience but might be worth it with wife and 2 young children! I have stayed in both and I prefer cheaper units , walking to bath house and saving more $ let's me visit more often! Can't go wrong with either cabin choices! They have RV and tent sites as well !
As for which trails to ride , the Hatfield trails will keep u more than entertained! Plenty of variety that won't be boring! Indian ridge, pinnacle creek and newly opened Pocohontas are easily accessible from Ashland !
Post again exact dates when u decide on date and usually there are people from this site in area ! Plus u can ask other people in camp too on suggestions! Always meet new friendly people each trip I take there!
Have fun ! U will enjoy it definately !

Thanks for all the feedback so far! This is a great help! I was originally thinking the farthest north system (Little coal river I think???) just because I am coming from PA and it would save a few hours driving but it sounds like Ashland is the way to go. Thanks again!

I think it would be well worth your extra travel time to stay in the Ashland area. There's just no way to beat riding 3 trail systems that are connected. Plus, you could hook up with someone and explore the outlaw trails if you wanted. You will not be dissapointed if you go down there.

Thanks again guys. Anyone staying in Bramwell lately? Looks like a few nice spots there as well with accecc to the trails. I think I am leaning toward Ashland but just curious. thnaks

Sorry cant help u there! I only stay at Ashland ! I should try other places but everthing is right there close and it hard to leave a spot like that for me personally! Good luck wherever u decide and have a blast riding! U won't be disappointed !

Yea kfp Ashland is in the middle between Pocohontas and Indian Ridge and the majority of the Outlaw trails so Ashland would be more centrally located. We have had some guys from Ohio that came in off I77 by gps early on this year and it took them over 1 1/2 hr to get to ashland and when they left we had them go out back thru Bluewell and then to buefield to Exit 1 getting back on I77 north and it took over 1 hour off their trip back home so just a little more info to think about also. At times the info from the gps take you different routes which take you to places you can't even turn around on and causes lots of headache up there so get info when you get ready to leave where ever you go from member in here and it will help keep your sanity intact and make for an easier trip! Good luck where ever you choose to go.

kfp673 wrote:

Thanks for all the feedback so far! This is a great help! I was originally thinking the farthest north system (Little coal river I think???) just because I am coming from PA and it would save a few hours driving but it sounds like Ashland is the way to go. Thanks again!

For what it's worth, if you drive west from Philly and get on 1-81 south, then I-77 west, it shouldn't actually take you any longer to get to Ashland than Little Coal River. I live just outside of Washington D.C. and I usually go to Ashland and the trails around there. As the crow flies Little Coal would be closer for me, but as the roads twist, it actually takes just a bit less time for me to get to Ashland.

Bobby D has some info on the new places in Bramwell to stay very nice

Awesome info guys! I love the support on this site even for a newbie! Bobby D thanks for the post. I will have to look into them all. I think we have decided to go to Ashland area per the recomendations howeer I still get the towns confused. I was under the impression that Ashland was a town and allowed you to ride on the street etc alowing us to ride to restaurants for dinner etc but I was reading another post which lead me to believe what I describe is Gilbert and there is nothing in Ashland. I would prefer to not have to cook. After riding or in the morning before riding are there places to eat and drink? and anywhere to get a sandwhich for lunch or do you bring /make everything on your own? Also, I called the ATV resort on Friday and the only issue is they only have cottages left. I was hoping to get a basic cabin. The cottages are twice the price and I really dont need the extra ammentities so I will look into some of these other places. Hopefully this will be a good learning trip (especially sicne I will have the kids with me) and then I hope to make it back down for the fall ride and know a bit more about the area. Last question to gather opinions. Anyone stay at the Ashland resort and then also stay at any of the others listed above and have a recomendation? I might just go to Ashland and tent camp but I would prefer a cabin so opinions on the others would be great! I want to be able to ride to a trail head from the place I stay. Thanks!

There are a lot of towns you can ride into from the trails to get lunch,drinks,gas,etc. We always stay at the mountain breeze motel in gilbert or the cowshed in pineville. From the cowshed you can ride he atv to the pinnicle creek trail head and from there ride pinnacle creek and also the indian ridge trails. Both places have stuff to eat around them. The cowshed has a diner attached to it and the town of Gilbert has a wide variety of places to eat.

Sorry i know those two places werent what you were asking for but they are the only two i have expierence with and thougt i would share..

I’ve never been to Gilbert, but I can tell you there are no restaurants in Ashland actually there is nothing is Ashland. Just 2 roads, and you can ride on each, but folks pretty much only ride on them to get to different trails. If you look at a Pinnacle Creek trail map, there are two ATV friendly towns you can ride to, each with restaurants and gas. Pineville, off the NW tip, and Mullens off the E/NE end. You can gas up at the Ashland resort as well. Bramwell, off of the WV tip of the Pocahontas trails recently became accessible, and has gas for sure, not sure about food. And Northfork/Keystone, off of the NW end of Indian Ridge has a gas station, not sure about food. As for Ashland ATV Resort being full, that’s common. Need to reserve early. Personally I’ve had to ‘settle’ for the cottages and or a tent site when I had to.

Thanks again all. Looks like a lot of nice places to stay. Gilbert is very tempting as well withe the Rockhouse system. This seems to be the biggest HM debate regarding systems is do you stay in Gilbert and ride Rockhouse or do you stay in the Indian Ridge/Pocohantas area. Both look like a blast but most of you seem to lean towards Ashland area. Maybe what we will do is Ashalnd this time and then come back and do Rockhouse next time. Thanka again!

Hey Steve I sent you a private message.

Hey Stitch - If you sent it to me, I haven't received it. Maybe there IS something wrong with the PM's.

My bad - you probably meant StevePZAR

My wife keeps telling me that its really NOT all about me:lol!:

I'm sorry steve that message was for stevepzar. sorry.

stitch89 wrote:

I'm sorry steve that message was for stevepzar. sorry.

No need to apologize, bud - just me being an idiot and not looking at the prior context of the thread!

No big,I should have specified.

We will be riding July 20 and 21, anyone else plannig to be down there? Still havent nailed down the exact spot yet. I thought we were all set in Ashland but after looking at pictures and reading my wife is trying to convince me to stay near Gilbert. She likes the idea of riding into town for dinner etc. and she likes some of the cabins on the river and mountain top. I guess even if I did this the Rockhouse system doesnt suck so either way we should have a good time. Let me know if you will be in either spot and maybe we can catch up. Especially anyone with younger kids. Cant wait to let the T4 loose in WV!

More riding out of Ashland over Gilbert since there is now 3 trail systems connected and you can ride into Bramwell,Pineville or Mullins for food and gas off of the H/M trails.

I'm sure some of us will be there you just to post again about a week before your trip.

Well I might have a cahnge in plans, and if so I will definitely be reacing out to some of you for help. I was just reading the HM permit rules and realised that even passengers need a permit. This means that my 4 year old daughters will need them as well meaning I will need to spend $200 on permits for 2 days of riding. Ya, I know it is good for all year but being 9 hours away does not allow me to come back often. I cant believe a child passenger would need a permit! That said, I might be looking outlaw trails for this trip. The other option is not get permits for my daughters and just hope we dont see a ranger. Outlaw trails are looking better and better!

kfp673 wrote:

Well I might have a cahnge in plans, and if so I will definitely be reacing out to some of you for help. I was just reading the HM permit rules and realised that even passengers need a permit. This means that my 4 year old daughters will need them as well meaning I will need to spend $200 on permits for 2 days of riding. Ya, I know it is good for all year but being 9 hours away does not allow me to come back often. I cant believe a child passenger would need a permit! That said, I might be looking outlaw trails for this trip. The other option is not get permits for my daughters and just hope we dont see a ranger. Outlaw trails are looking better and better!

Just buy 2 permits and play dumb if you get checked. The most that could happen is that they tell you to buy the other 2 permits and show them when you do.

My recommendation for a first trip would be to stay at Ashland, get a cabin with a kitchen and cook your meals or grill out. Don't rely on the campground grills, some of them work and some don't.

Also, your kids must be belted into the SxS seats. They cannot be in car seats or boosters, that came straight from a ranger at the spring ride.

Good luck planning your trip

Thanks Handy man.. Well this trip is falling apart then... There is no way I would ride with them strapped into the seats, they are too small. I put car seats in the back and they are strapped in good and safe. This is a rule IMO that actually is counter productive because people will then just ride with their small kids in the regular seat which is VERY unsafe instead of just allowing us to do the right thing and use a booster or car seat. HM really is a great thing and is great for the state but these things we are talking about are the down sides. No way I would feel comfortable without the car seats so this trip is imploding. I really need to find the outlaw trails!