September 8, 2006
West Virginia - The 500-mile Hatfield-McCoy Trail system in West Virginia will undergo further expansion if landowners and lawmakers in three counties can come to a compromise Raleigh County is proposing to build a link to the Hatfield-McCoy Trail system using a 40,000-acre tract of land owned by Beaver Coal Co. Ltd. Raleigh County commissioners and the trail's development authority are scheduled to meet with the trail's finance committee, then act on the proposal during an October meeting.
In McDowell County, construction is expected to begin later this month on a 30-mile trail network that may expand to 60 to 90 miles of trail with the addition of two other landowners.
Finally, in Boone County, a 2,000-square-foot trailhead facility also in the works.
The Hatfield-McCoy Trail currently runs through five counties.
Nearly 75,000 annual user permits have been sold in the past five years. Recent studies indicate that 1) out-of-state riders account for more than 80 percent of all trail permits sold; and 2) the average rider stays three days in the area, spending an average of $113 a day.
