Off-Roading on the Hatfield-McCoy Trail West Virginia

The Hatfield-McCoy trail system is one of the world’s largest off-roading networks, more than 1,000 miles of winding, twisting and often rutted unpaved paths, through the thick forests of eastern West Virginia.

There’s even a waterfall where many off-roaders stop for selfies, and also to wash off the off-road mud. Regulars call it a Hillbilly car wash.

Hatfield-McCoy offroad trail — Photo (C) Copyright Evelyn Kanter

The trail system is named for the legendary feud between the two families – the Hatfields and the McCoys – which dominated much of this area more than a century ago, and which I learned about in grade school. That was part of the appeal of driving on it.

This is the story of my off-road adventure, in an article published originally in A Girl’s Guide to Cars and rewritten and re-published here with permission:

Expect to Get Muddy

The first thing I was told is that I would get muddy, and to bring a change of clothes for the trip back to my hotel.

That turned out not to be necessary. Luckily, it had not rained for several days, so unless I roared through standing water on the rutted dirt trails, not much mud got kicked up.

Still, there was enough to polka-dot my pants, shirt, sunglasses, and even my camera, which I had the good sense to double-wrap inside a zipper plastic bag inside a backpack, placed on the floor of the backseat.

I was on the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System in southern West Virginia, named for the multi-generation murderous feud between two neighboring and inter-married families that many of us studied in grade school.

It’s the largest ATV and UTV trail system in the East, maybe even the entire USA, with more than 1,000 miles of dirt paths carved out of the mountainside as far back as the mid-1800s, by coal miners and loggers.

Buy or Rent a Kawasaki ATV & UTV

I was driving a brand new, lime green, four-person Kawasaki Teryx 750, which is powerful, easy to drive, and instantly responsive. It’s quite the investment — it clocks in at $15,199 — but if you’re an avid off-roader, you might just find it worth the cost.

Twin Hollow adjoins the Hatfield-MCoy system, which is so huge that it is divided into sections, called Rockhouse Trails, Buffalo Mountain Trails, and Devil Anse Trails. That one is named for William Anderson Hatfield, whose nickname was Anse. He’s the one who started the family feud. When in-law Randolph McCoy called him a devil, the nickname Devil Anse stuck.

The Hatfield family cemetery was one of our stops. It’s up a steep hill – walking only – in Omar, W. Va.

His grave is marked by an obelisk worthy of a war hero of one of the USA’s many wars, from Revolutionary to Afghanistan. It is surrounded by the graves of family members who fought in those wars and who actually deserve a hero’s obelisk.

Off-roading Hatfield McCoy Trail West Virginia — Hatfield McCoy trail photo (C) Copyright Evelyn Kanter

Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced

All the trails are rated beginner, intermediate, advanced, and another best described as you-have-to-be-kidding, similar to the green, blue, black and double-black ratings at ski/snowboard resorts I visit regularly.

Even though we were on greens and blues exclusively, there were a couple of three-point turns with a steep-fall off to one side that kicked up my adrenalin as much as a mogul-infested downhill trail in the Rockies or Sierras, or the Alps.

My guide was Cameron Ellis, whose father and grandfather were coal miners here. These days, his dad owns Twin Hollow, his mother runs the office, and he owns the rental franchise and a nearby motel.

“World War II was won with coal from West Virginia and Virginia,” he told me – proudly – at one of our stops, a waterfall where coal was once augured and washed. Now, it’s a popular photo stop for selfies with the trail vehicles.

We stopped for lunch inches from the trail at Keith’s, in the town of Man. It’s an old-fashioned roadhouse, with dollar bills pasted on the ceiling, country music on the jukebox, banners supporting the Man Hillbillies high school sports teams, and a parking lot shared by pick-ups, ATVs and UTVs.

I couldn’t resist the Outlaw Burger with sweet potato fries, fried pickles and a local microbrew.

Hatfield-McCoy off-road trail system — Photo (C) Copyright Evelyn Kanter

Go With a Guide or With Friends Who Know the Route

If you think you can go it alone, think again.

Even though trails are well-marked, they are not marked well enough to follow one that includes getting you back to home base.

When I asked Ellis to review the trails on our five-hours of driving, he zipped off that we were on 312 to 37 to 17 to 19 to 30 to 34 to 33 to 13 to 18 to 40 to 23.

I had been concentrating so much on the road in front of my mud-splattered windshield that I missed most of those markers.

In other words, if you go, either go with friends who know every inch of the system and you can follow them back to base, or book a guide. Otherwise, you could get lost in the woods. Since there’s not much GPS or online service in these backwoods, you could be lost for a while.

Solo visitors require a permit. A day pass is included in a rental, with or without a guide.

The best time to visit is Spring to Fall, although Ellis tells me that many off-roaders prefer winter. “Snow makes for a smoother ride,” he says.