West Virginia H&M Trails
- Thread starter Joe_U4
- Start date
StretchASU
Playing country music til Troy's ears bleed.
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2006
- Location
- Claudville, VA
Give Corey a shout at Atlas Offroad in Winfield, WV. Just picked up a transfer case from him yesterday and those guys ride that area a bunch. He might be able to point you in the right direction on trails and where to stay.
Clubbs
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2008
- Location
- Blounts Creek
My experience for the most trail time is to stay at the cabins at the trailhead. Get a couple copies of the map or use ONX and hit all the double blacks you can. I think 96 has a pretty wild undercut double ledge waterfall, haven't done that one yet. 97 has a large vertical waterfall but with enough wheelbase and guts it's surprisingly grippy, and there's several good winch points for precautionary purposes at the top. The next ledge is actually more technical.
There's one double black right off the main green loop that I havent tried. It's crazy steep, loose and big rocks. More of a hill killer climb that I don't have the nerve for or the rig I don't think.
95 is a lot of fun, and pretty much anything in a creek bed is just plain enjoyable slow technical crawling. I might have the number off on a few of these but onx was running a half off promotion and I was surprised at how helpful it was planning routes, particularly because it has pics of the main obstacles. I did find it's route following ability once there was great the first day, but in day two I kept getting an error message. But it showed me where I was and trail ratings and numbers so it was worth the $50 to me to do more riding and less map reading.
Just about everything other than the double blacks has been SXS'd to death, which means any half decent fullsize rig can do everything there. And it seems the difference between green blue and black is only how steep the trial is. Might encounter a small ledge on a black trail but nothing bigger than the lawnmower tires on a SXS can't handle. My son's daily gladiator on 35 at's did blacks with ease if that tells you anything.
But if you're going with a group that includes some daily driver rigs too they can have fun and most of the double blacks are visible or right next to a more moderate trail.
Ohio off-road YouTube channel has a couple videos on the trails that I found useful years ago to get a feel for the place. I think flex rocks and rollovers has some too. Not a fan or follower of any of these guys and take or leave the personalities, but it can show you trail difficulty vs different styles of rigs and drivers.
Two days is more than enough to hit everything so if you're there longer or get board, run south to the bear wallow system. Similar setup, but seems less used which has its advantages and disadvantages.
Also if towing from the south I always pull up to Charleston and then head south on 119. The cross over that Google tells you to take is brutal and doesn't save any time with switchbacks and small towns.
I've never met an unfriendly person there, all the locals are incredibly kind and treat you like royalty. I think it's fairly well known that these trail systems bring income to the area that's been affected by job loss relates to mine closures and such. Always nice to go out to eat and support local stuff if you can. And Ive had driveshafts repaired and several other parts found that I never thought I would, just ask around and someone has what you need, might be in the back of what you think is an abandoned house, but that's some resources and generous folks up there.
Have fun either way - it's some pretty country up there.
There's one double black right off the main green loop that I havent tried. It's crazy steep, loose and big rocks. More of a hill killer climb that I don't have the nerve for or the rig I don't think.
95 is a lot of fun, and pretty much anything in a creek bed is just plain enjoyable slow technical crawling. I might have the number off on a few of these but onx was running a half off promotion and I was surprised at how helpful it was planning routes, particularly because it has pics of the main obstacles. I did find it's route following ability once there was great the first day, but in day two I kept getting an error message. But it showed me where I was and trail ratings and numbers so it was worth the $50 to me to do more riding and less map reading.
Just about everything other than the double blacks has been SXS'd to death, which means any half decent fullsize rig can do everything there. And it seems the difference between green blue and black is only how steep the trial is. Might encounter a small ledge on a black trail but nothing bigger than the lawnmower tires on a SXS can't handle. My son's daily gladiator on 35 at's did blacks with ease if that tells you anything.
But if you're going with a group that includes some daily driver rigs too they can have fun and most of the double blacks are visible or right next to a more moderate trail.
Ohio off-road YouTube channel has a couple videos on the trails that I found useful years ago to get a feel for the place. I think flex rocks and rollovers has some too. Not a fan or follower of any of these guys and take or leave the personalities, but it can show you trail difficulty vs different styles of rigs and drivers.
Two days is more than enough to hit everything so if you're there longer or get board, run south to the bear wallow system. Similar setup, but seems less used which has its advantages and disadvantages.
Also if towing from the south I always pull up to Charleston and then head south on 119. The cross over that Google tells you to take is brutal and doesn't save any time with switchbacks and small towns.
I've never met an unfriendly person there, all the locals are incredibly kind and treat you like royalty. I think it's fairly well known that these trail systems bring income to the area that's been affected by job loss relates to mine closures and such. Always nice to go out to eat and support local stuff if you can. And Ive had driveshafts repaired and several other parts found that I never thought I would, just ask around and someone has what you need, might be in the back of what you think is an abandoned house, but that's some resources and generous folks up there.
Have fun either way - it's some pretty country up there.
Just myself and a buddy in buggies. Ran a lot of the double blacks today, terrible with numbers. Just looked on ONX and said let's hit that one, then that one. etc....
Long considering the drive up and this old man is tired.
Not much for taking pictures but here's one back at the cabin and the buggies are ready for a good night's sleep
Long considering the drive up and this old man is tired.
Not much for taking pictures but here's one back at the cabin and the buggies are ready for a good night's sleep
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