We made our first trip to Hatfield McCoy trails last week. We booked our Ashland Resort Deluxe Cottage in October of 2018; we were really excited that the time had finally arrived. Ashland Resort http://www.atvresort.com consistently receives good reviews, and it’s warranted. The accommodations are nice and clean. The area feels secure and the staff is excellent. The Ashland Deluxe Cottage was fine for four adults. There was still a twin top bunk vacant. Truth is, it’s a bit tight, but not bad considering it’s just a place to sleep. The kitchenette was fine to prepare a couple meals in. The outdoor grills are in good shape and we enjoyed the fire pit.
Be aware that many of the accommodations don’t have bathrooms. You’ll need to use one of the two bath houses. The Deluxe Cottage has a bathroom with shower. The Lodges also have bathrooms and showers. We’re booked for an Ashland Lodge in the fall. The Ashland Deluxe Lodges (3 bedrooms and sleeps up to 8) get booked many months in advance, so you’ll need to plan well ahead to score one of those. The Ashland Lodge has two bedrooms and sleeps up to 6.
We were a bit disappointed that large sections of Indian Ridge and Pocahontas trail systems were closed for mining. Mining is the largest economy driver, so it’s understandable.
Indian Ridge
Indian Ridge can be accessed directly from Ashland Resort. Pocahontas requires a trip down the main road for a few miles to reach the trailhead (trail 18). We only had two full days of riding, so we didn’t spend much time on Indian Ridge. Saturday was spent exploring Pocahontas and visiting Bramwell. The Bramwell Corner Shop has some great burgers and shakes. Caution, though, the signs prohibiting ATVs on Main Street are not prominent and on the left side of the road. One in our party got pulled over for violating a rule we were unaware of. The officer was very kind about it and just issued a reminder. There’s a large parking area on the left when you come into Bramwell and just before Main Street. Park your rig there. You can also fuel up at Bramwell Outpost on the way back to the trailhead.
Pocahontas greens were really boring. The blues were similar to greens back home in PA. We didn’t try any of the blacks as we had some less experienced riders with us, but they would have likely given us the challenge we were craving. We did see a female black bear and three cubs crossing the tail, which was the highlight of the day.
Pinnacle Creek was definitely our favorite trail system of the three. The greens on the Pinnacle Creek connector and Pinnacle Creek were much more challenging than Pocahontas. There are creek crossings, steep climbs and descents, and lots of switchbacks; the scenery was breathtaking. The blues were tons of fun. We followed maps for the look outs, but we didn’t see where there was a lookout anywhere. That was a bit of a bummer. We visited the town of Kimball. It has a nice veteran’s monument, but there was no food that we could find and we didn’t see any gas. For us, Kimball was a bust, so it was fortunate that we brought some PBJs, jerky and other snacks. The connector is long, so you might want to carry extra fuel if you don’t plan to hit Pineville or Welch. My recommendation would be to just hit Pineville and skip connector trail 29 to Kimball and Welch. Pineville is at the northwest side of the trail system, which is the far extreme from where you enter the connector. Pineville was great. They have a nice gas station with plenty of snacks and drinks. They also have 93 octane fuel. There are multiple options for food as well, but we really enjoyed Ole Jose; we’ll be back. Our trip out and back was about 100 miles over 9.5 hours with an average speed of 14.3 mph.
Things to think of…
Cottages do not include linens. Bring your own sheets, blankets, pillows, towels, etc. Bring some fire wood. It’s $6/bundle at the store. Bring a pump like this Xcellent Global Portable Electric Car Washer Pump Set 12V 80W with Adjustable Spray Nozzle and Quick Release Adaptor for Auto, Marine, Pet, Window, Gardening and Camping AT036 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F2B31Q5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_g0Z9CbM7ZCG0V. It’s perfect for keeping your radiator free from mud and an inevitable overheat. We used it a couple times and you can even hose down your seats and whatever else you wish. You can only use the hose at the resort for cleaning your radiator and lights. Any other cleaning is prohibited. Bring rain gear like Frogg Toggs. If it rains hard while you’re 3-4 hours way from camp, it could be a nasty ride back if it’s cool.
Ensure you have a a good map. There are multiple options:
Maprika – I use this for all the riding areas I visit in VA, PA, and now WV. The maps you see in this post are from Maprika. It uses georeferenced images of the actual trail maps, which I like, and allows tracking of your trip.
TrailView – This is an app built by HMT locals and it looks great. Unfortunately, they’re still working out some bugs. I’m sure it’ll improve rapidly.
Map Plus with BobT maps – BobT provides maps for HMT official trails as well as outlaw trails. For me, using an iPhone X, the text was too small to be useful. Many riders love this app, though.
TrailView 
Map Plus 
Maprika
Although Ashland is really nice and has a great reputation, I’ve also found that Airbnb has some whole houses in the area that are much less expensive. I would trust my machines inside the Ashland property more than a house (yes, there are issues with theft in the area). Ashland is also right in the middle of the Pinnacle Creek, Indian Ridge, and Pocohantas trail systems. It may be worth the premium for the location and security.
We’ll be posting some videos on our YouTube channel soon.