Just seven short years ago a small ATV club from the North Central Mountains of PA had a dream to get a trail system open that would connect four major riding areas in the central part of the state.
Many had thought that it could never happen, but fast forward to today and their original idea of having 800 legal miles of riding in the state has turned into almost 1200 and the thought of connecting those trail systems is looking more like a reality than a dream.
Click Here to learn more about the ATV Alliance that operates in Pennsylvania
Its taken years of hard work and determination from many including the original club, the help of the DCNR, local legislators and tourism bureaus and many more individuals and business sponsors.. On top of that the sport started to grow and areas that were opening their towns and township roads from other areas of the state saw the economic impact it was having and said hey, how do we get in on all this.
The town of Germania has benefited greatly from ATV/UTV riders passing through their town.
The North Central PA ATV Initiative as it is currently called continues to grow. Just within the original group alone they have proposed 1800 miles of legal riding in Clinton, Potter and Tioga counties alone.
Other clubs like the Allegheny Ridge Recreation Association, the PA Ridge Runners and the newly formed Potter County ATV/UTV Club are all breaking ground on new trail systems and boro and town openings in their respective parts of the state.
From an Elk Ride Tour with the Central Mountains ATV Association.
At a current initiative meeting talks were sounding like in the near future we may be able to ride from West Virginia to the NY state line and a current trail system is being proposed to ride from the Flight 93 Memorial to lots of historic destinations and play pen riding areas in the western parts of the state.
There is also a Pilot Program getting ready to start upstate using short sections of Penn Dot road and state forest roads to connect an even larger area and some of those DCNR trail systems we spoke about earlier.
Above see a recently updated Route 6 corridor map of legal riding.
Click Here to see more detailed riding maps from Pennsylvania.
From a recent club ride with the Central Mountains ATV Association.
Rides like the one above covered over 120 miles in three PA counties with a stop for a trailside cookout. Most of these clubs are very affordable to join and offer "Destination Riding: once or twice each month.
On top of that, they are the ones leading the charge to get even more legal riding open for you and I and are doing it by benefiting the local communities and by promoting safe and responsible riding.
What can you do you ask?
1. Please consider joining a club - there are many and they are easy to find.
2. Once you join, please consider volunteering to help with club rides or joining a club committee.
3. Please ride safely and responsibly.
4. Tell a friend or better yet, bring them along on a ride.
5. Connect anybody you know who is fighting for riding rights etc. to the alliance above.
6. Have fun and get outdoors.
Some Club Contacts:
Thanks for reading and please share this link around - we hope to see you on the trails...
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