Hatfield-McCoy Trails

Getting dirty is the hallmark of a day in an off-road vehicle careening through West Virginia’s mountains on the Hatfield-McCoy Trails. They constitute the largest adventuring trail system east of the Mississippi River, and as a souvenir T-shirt proclaims, “If Mud Ain’t Flying, You Ain’t Trying.”

A dozen trails — Bearwallow, Rockhouse, Warrior, Braveheart and more — twist and turn for almost 1,000 miles through southern West Virginia’s rugged backcountry. Small towns such as Gilbert and Mullens are access points offering rental vehicles, lodging and restaurants, and the trails follow “roads” originally carved out for coal mining, timbering and natural gas extraction. Don’t expect smooth riding on the trails, as only a few miles are on pavement to connect trail segments or to guide you in and out of small mountain communities.

The network launched in 2000 with 300 miles of trail, taking its name from the region’s most notorious families — the Hatfields and the McCoys — and their convoluted, decades-long feud involving land disputes, deaths, a Romeo-and-Juliet-like twist and even a pig. The grave of Hatfield patriarch, William Anderson
“Devil Anse” Hatfield, is a short hike off the Rockhouse Trail. The system is always expanding too, with the 50-mile Big Coal River Trail coming soon and the Braveheart Trail reopening in 2025.

Trail riders steer all-terrain vehicles, utility terrain vehicles and off-road motorcycles following printed guides that resemble ski resort maps with green, blue and black lines rating the difficulty and driving skill needed. 

The trail system brought new industry to a region long dependent on mining and helped spawn businesses such as Mountaintop Adventures in Gilbert. It has West Virginia’s largest rental fleet of side-by-sides, rugged vehicles that can carry two or four passengers. Gilbert Convention and Visitors Bureau: 5 Wharncliffe Ave., Gilbert, West Virginia 25621, 304/664-3477, gilbertcvb.com, trailsheaven.com