Latest news with #JeffreyLusk
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
PROGRESS 2025: Ridership levels rebounding on Hatfield-McCoy Trail
By all indications the Hatfield-McCoy Trail system was on track in late 2024 to set a new ridership record. The multi-county trail system was hoping to surpass 95,000 permit sales last year, which would have been a new ridership record. But then something totally unexpected happened. The remnants of Hurricane Helene slammed into West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. The mountains, which normally protect the region from such extreme weather events, failed to stop Helene. The last time a hurricane had made it this far into the mountains was in 1989 when Hurricane Hugo slammed into the region. Helene was far more destructive. Locally, the tropical-force winds from the remnants of the hurricane toppled thousands of trees across the region. Many others, including 100-year-old trees, were uprooted from the ground. Thousands of power lines also were knocked down. Trees fell on homes and cars. More than a hundred thousand people across the region were left without electricity for more than a week. But North Carolina, and communities like Asheville, were hit even harder by Hurricane Helene. Coincidentally, many of the ATV tourists who travel to the region from Interstate 77 and ultimately Bluefield are those riders who come from North Carolina, according to Hatfield-McCoy Trails Authority Executive Director Jeffrey Lusk. But once the storm devastated parts of North Carolina, ATV tourists from those areas canceled their reservations and stayed home — many struggling to recover from the destructive storm. As a result, ridership numbers dropped in October, which is normally one of the biggest ridership months for the trail system. But the drop in ridership was not as severe as originally feared. The trail system finished its 2024 ridership season with 93,830 permits being sold. That was actually a 1.6 percent increase in permit sales over 2023. 'So we did grow and that ended up being 1,469 new riders on the trail,' Lusk said of the final 2024 ridership numbers. All indications point to a significant rebound in ridership levels this spring. 'We expect a great spring,' Lusk said. 'We really do. The lodging owners I've talked to — their forward reservations are trending ahead of next year. This is just going to be a great, great year. We are very, very excited for our trail system.' Ridership levels also increased during the winter months. 'Most of our riders who come in the winter, they come from the northeast. They don't come from the south,' Lusk said. 'It is usually power sports enthusiasts. They will just use that same gear and come down here and ride their ATVs. They are just acclimated toward doing power sports outside when it is cold outside. I think they just own both types of equipment. They will come down from as far away as Canada. They don't seem to be as sensitive to the weather as the folks from the south who aren't used to the cold weather. It's all about having that insulated gear.' As a result, January and February ridership numbers on the trail this year were higher than normal thanks in part to the growing popularity of snow tourism on the trails. Lusk said some riders follow the local forecast for Bluefield, and when snow is in the forecast, they schedule a visit to the region. 'We are open 365 days a year,' Lusk said. 'And we get riders everyday of the year. Literally we have riders everyday of the year, which is just great.' As more riders make use of the trail system, more lodging and related accommodations are needed, according to Lusk. 'Our growth is actually premised on folks opening up and providing new lodging,' Lusk said. 'Our entrepreneurs in Southern West Virginia have been really great.' Lusk said one recent example of a closed structure being converted into new ATV lodging is the Old Bank Lodge facility in Bluewell. That structure was once a bank and is now a new ATV lodging facility. 'It's a very unique reuse,' Lusk said of the structure. 'It can sit up to 14 people. It is really nice inside.' Contact Charles Owens at cowens@
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Yahoo
Hatfield-McCoy Trail saw ridership growth despite hurricane damage
Feb. 8—bramwell — Despite hurricane damage inflicted last year in southern West Virginia and the Carolinas, the Hatfield-McCoy Trail system is reporting increasing ridership numbers and signs that the region's lodging reservations are steadily returning to normal. Flooding and wind damage as well as widespread power outages hit Mercer, McDowell and Wyoming counties from Sept. 25 to 28 last year, later prompting a federal disaster declaration in Mercer County. Downed trees blocked parts of the Hatfield-McCoy Trails system and while the trail system's employees were able to clear the fallen debris and get the system reopened, the damage Helene inflicted in North Carolina, South Carolina and other parts of the South reduced ridership. Many of the Hatfield-McCoy Trails' riders coming to Mercer, McDowell and Wyoming counties are from the Carolinas, but they stayed home during the trail system's busiest time of the year to deal with hurricane damage. This led to lodging cancellations throughout the region. The trail system's permit sales are measured from Nov. 15 to Nov. 15. Jeffrey Lusk, executive director of the Hatfield-McCoy Trails Authority, said Friday that despite last year's storm damage, permit sales actually increased. During the 2023 season, there were 92,655 permit sales. This increased to 93,830 sales during the 2024 season, an increase of about 1.59%. These figures were presented this week to the authority's board of directors. "With the hurricane, we were afraid we would have a flat year, but instead we had some growth," Lusk said. "We were really excited to have growth last year. That was a big deal for us. We got reopened fairly quickly, but our ridership for North Carolina was just devastated." Losing ATV tourists coming from North Carolina hurt lodging and businesses in Mercer, McDowell and Wyoming counties, he said. "They have the highest percentage of visitations from the south," Lusk said of ATV lodging facilities. "They getting more people from North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. More northern counties get most of their guests from states like Ohio and Michigan. It's just geography. Depending on where your lodge is located, you get a different mix of visitors." The numbers of people planning on visiting the Hatfield-McCoy Trails this season appears to be increasing. "It probably won't be until late spring before it gets back to normal," Lusk said about ridership. "We believe we're going to have an amazing spring. The lodging providers I've talked to said their forward reservations look really good." The trail authority has a $2.5 million, five-year marketing plan, according to information provided by Lusk. The goal is 5% annual growth over a five-year period which started in 2022 and concludes in 2027 with the goal of selling 110,878 permits during that last year. Overall, the goal is to increase total annual permits by 24,000 during the marketing plan's five-year implementation period. This growth is expected to increase the trail system's total economic impact to over $75 million. Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@ Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@
