Wood County Parks and Recreation Commission trails into talks about ATVs

PARKERSBURG - The Wood County Parks and Recreation Commission discussed bringing off-road trails to a local park during a meeting Tuesday evening.

Commission members talked about a project that was first mentioned during a Wood County Commission meeting in January.

The parks commission is looking at the possibility of reconfiguring Mountwood Park's ATV trails into off-road trails that accommodate jeeps, full-sized trucks and vehicles for people who want to do overland adventures where vehicles go on specified trails with obstacles to maneuver through. The work would include switching trails to one-way and widening them enough for a jeep to drive on them.

Mountwood Park, located 12 miles east of Parkersburg off U.S. 50, sits on the site of former oil boom town Volcano, which boasted 5,000 residents until a fire burnt the town to the ground in 1879, according to the park's website.

The parks commission opened up the meeting to public comment about the trails. Thomas Burton of West Virginia Overland LLC spoke in favor of having the off-road trails. West Virginia Overland LLC is a company that offers guided trips on trails and backroads in West Virginia and training on how to drive vehicles on these types of trails.

Burton would like to see an obstacle course put in the area of the park called "the racetrack," he said.

According to Burton, it is not an actual racetrack, but a flat area with some trails that could be turned into a loop system for vehicle training and small rallies. It would be a multi-purpose use project.

He would also like to see dispersive camping sites, also called overlanding sites, added to the trails. These are sites where four to five vehicles can pull in and the drivers can camp in their vehicles. There would be a fire pit and a parking area for the vehicles, Burton said.

Burton said facilities at the park could be used for expos and events and the flat area at the head of the current trails in the park could be used for vendors. He said he would also like in the future to be able to teach technical driving on the trails.

Burton said that if the trails are added Mountwood Park "would be a hub for adventure travel."

According to Wood County Commissioner and parks commission member Blair Couch there are multiple areas in Mountwood Park perfect for the kind of camping site Burton is talking about. Drivers could also camp at any of the campsites, cabins or primitive camping sites already at the park.

"We're thinking there's opportunities on both sides of the park for full-size vehicles to enjoy the park," Couch said.

Frank Rose, a member of Ohio Valley Jeep Club and the club's Member Compliance Director and Trail Boss, also spoke in support of bringing the trails to Mountwood Park.

Rose said the Ohio Valley Jeep Club has 5,000 members that drive on trails throughout Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee and other states and they are not afraid to travel to get to drive their jeeps on off-road trails.

Rose emphasized that the Ohio Valley Jeep Club bylaws state that members cannot use alcohol or drugs on a ride and that they must follow all regulations for events.

He said if club members drive on off-road trails in Mountwood Park, they would not be daredevils and tear up the trails but would just enjoy the trails and buy passes to be allowed to use them.

In response to Rose's comments, Parks Commission President Chris Swarr said it is appealing to hear how the club members conduct themselves.

"It's huge potential for Wood County.and huge potential for us," Rose said of off-road trails coming to Mountwood Park.

Swarr agreed that he saw the potential in the trails project as well.

All the administrators of the Ohio Valley Jeep Club are in favor of the trails Rose told the commission.

"As appointees of the club, we're excited to see this happen," Rose said.

Swarr said it is very early in the process for the trails so it is important to get public input. The trails sound like something the Wood County Parks and Recreation Commission will want to support, Swarr said.

No audience members spoke out against off-road trails being added to Mountwood Park.

Michelle Dillon can be reached at mdillon@timeswv.com