Business
May 18, 2008
Hitting the trail
ATV riders bring boost to small-town economy

GILBERT - "Gilbert welcomes trail riders," reads the sign on the town hall. Across the street, the 1950s-inspired diner with an Elvis statue beside the front door welcomes ATV riders and advertises a weekend pancake breakfast.

At least five stores in this Mingo County town sell ATV parts and accessories. Even the local McDonald's allows ATV riders in its drive-thru.

"That McDonald's is one of the most photographed places in town," said Jeff Lusk, executive director of the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System. "There's even YouTube videos of it."

1 of 3 Photos
Chris Dorst
ATV riders pass through a tunnel next to the Twin Hollow Campgrounds in Gilbert.
The small town (population 450) began to change after a trailhead to the Browning Fork system for ATV riders opened in 2002, Lusk said. 

To keep up with the influx of ATV riders and their needs, many of the townspeople have become business owners.

"What has happened in Gilbert is repeated over and over," Lusk said. "That was the vision for the [ATV] trail system. An economic development project, not just tourism.

"This is how you change a small town's fate."

Wayne Ellis owns Twin Hollow Campground in Gilbert. The former surface mine has been in Ellis' family for four generations.

Part of the Browning Fork system is on his property. When trail system officials first approached him, he was skeptical.

"I didn't envision people coming in and paying money to ride these mountains," he said.

He was wrong. Trail users increased sixfold from 1996 (when the trails first opened) to 2005, according to an economic impact study by Marshall University's Center for Business and Economic Research.

Since then, Lusk said, things have only gotten better.

In the first five and a half months of 2008, permit sales revenues are up 60 percent, Lusk said. The trail's permit sale revenue was up 13 percent overall in 2007, he said.

Gilbert's population easily doubles or triples during some weekends because of the riders, he said.

Before the trailhead opened in Gilbert, there were only 16 rooms available for out-of-town guests, he said. Now, there are more than 70, said Bill Reed, a Gilbert businessman and marketing specialist for the Hatfield-McCoy trails. Lusk said that's not nearly enough.

Reed and his father-in-law, Kendell Simpson, own five businesses in Gilbert, including an ambulance service started in 1990 and an auto repair shop started in 2001. That business "never really took off," but managed to stay stable, Reed said.

The two decided to try something different by investing in the Mountain Breeze Motel in 2006.

"And, the folks that were staying there, they were looking for a place to have their ATV repaired," Reed said.

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