Coalfield trails weekend: Hatfield-McCoy, Spearhead and Anthracite

Appalachia rides year-round, with mud seasons in spring and late autumn, and late July is about as dry as the region gets. The three systems this weekend are all built on former coal land and all run on a paid-permit model, which means the trails are marked, maintained and patrolled in a way that public forest often is not. They are also the most UTV-friendly places in the East.

Hatfield-McCoy Trails in West Virginia is the biggest. The Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority runs nine systems marked green through black, several thousand kilometres in total, rated a 5 overall with a blue marking. Terrain is mud, forest trail and rock. A paid trail permit is required, sold annually or by the day, and helmets are required for riders under 18. Confirm with the managing agency before you go, because individual routes close for mud even in summer.

Because the systems are separate, choose one and stay in it. The towns along the network are set up for machines, and many riders base in one for the weekend rather than trailering between systems. Green and blue trails are wide and forgiving; the black ones involve real rock and are not for a stock machine driven by someone who has not ridden them before.

Spearhead Trails in the Virginia coalfields is run by the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority, with several connected systems marked from easy to difficult and rated a 5. A paid Spearhead permit, sold by the day or year, is generally required. It is open year-round with muddy stretches in spring and late autumn, so late July is a good bet. Check with the managing agency before you set off.

Spearhead's systems share the Hatfield-McCoy character of long, connected mountain loops with short difficult options, and the same advice applies: pick a system, stage at its trailhead and ride from there. Cell coverage is patchy across all of these, so carry a paper map from the trailhead and agree a meeting point if the group splits.

Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area near Shamokin, Pennsylvania, is the hardest of the three at a 6. Thousands of acres of reclaimed coal land with rock, mud, coal spoil and forest trail, marked from easy to extreme rock. A paid AOAA day or annual permit and a waiver are required for each rider, and it is open year-round on posted operating days. Confirm the operating calendar with the authority before you go.

Coal spoil is its own surface. It is loose, sharp and drains fast, which is why AOAA rides well in weather that turns the other two to soup. It is also hard on tires, so check sidewalls at the end of the day; rock damage often shows on the sidewall before it shows anywhere else. The correct pressures and any load figures for your tires are in your service manual.

Summer thunderstorms are the wildcard. All three sit on mountain land where a storm can turn a blue trail into a black one in an hour, and the authorities close routes accordingly. Check the day-of trail status at the permit office, not just the website, and be ready to change plans.

Finally, the permit-authority model works because riders stay on the marked trail and the money goes back into maintenance. Ride the route, not the shortcut, and if you find a washout or a downed tree, report it at the trailhead. That is what keeps these systems open.