Trails. Trails. Trails. There are so many to choose from in Boone County — from socializing on the wellness trail in downtown Madison, enjoying a picnic after meandering on a walking trail at the Racine Park, to dipping your toes in the Coal River during the Tour de Coal on one of the many Coal River Water Trails.

Still, there is that one trail system that comes to the top of peoples’ minds in this area- the Hatfield-McCoy Trail.

The Hatfield-McCoy Trail System is the premier multi-use trail system in the northeast United States, with approximately 600 miles of trail that loop through some of the most beautiful and historic territory in West Virginia.

It can accommodate off-highway motorcycles, horseback riders, mountain bikers and hikers. Though, it is mainly known for being a destination for all-terrain vehicle riders.

It has become so accommodating, in fact, that the small West Virginia town of Gilbert allows trail riders to ride their ATVs on the streets of its town.

The trail system has become as popular and synonymous with the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia as the notorious feuding families for which it was named.

According to Hatfield-McCoy Trail System Executive Director Jeffrey T. Lusk, the approximate 600 miles of trail extends into nine southern West Virginia counties, with six independent trail systems. With names like Rockhouse, Buffalo Mountain, Bearwallow, Indian Ridge, Little Coal and Pinnacle Creek, the trails accommodate users of varying experience by designating degrees of difficulty.

These range from green “novice” trails to the more daring and adventurous black “expert” level trails.

In Boone County, the Little Coal trail, which consists of approximately 20 miles of trail (though, in perspective, a mere 3% of the total trail system), attracts visitors from across the nation.

“We’ve had visitors from Hawaii and Japan and parts of Europe. They come from all over; it is just amazing,” Hatfield-McCoy Trails employee Letty Eversole, said.

With its world-renown popularity among ATV enthusiasts, it might surprise some that the purpose of the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System is not to offer a dusty road in the middle of a forest for outdoor enthusiasts to spend their free time.

Rather, according to Hatfield-McCoy Trails Executive Director Jeffrey T. Lusk, the goal of the trail system is to act as a tool to bring businesses and economic opportunities and development to an underserved area of rural West Virginia.

The Hatfield-McCoy Trail System is a statutory corporation created by the West Virginia Legislature to generate economic development through tourism.

Smacking close to a Kevin Costner line out of "Field of Dreams," “If you build it, they will come,” seems to be the mantra behind the Hatfield-McCoy’s success in spurring economic entrepreneurialism in West Virginia.

In an area that was described in a 2006 Marshall University Center for Business and Economic Development Research study as, “one of the most isolated in the nation,” where “the lack of jobs has caused an out-migration of the better educated seeking improved opportunities elsewhere,” the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System has been the stimulus for approximately 55 new businesses and revenue in excess of $7 million.

According to Lusk, the West Virginia Legislature has yet to offer him another example of a state-funded project that has been the direct impetus for the creation of 55 new businesses in the state.

According to Bill Reed, of Strategic Advantage Marketing, the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System this past year has been featured in 12 national magazines and in 10 television programs.

Since the trails became functional in 2000, there have been three deaths associated with the trail system, a number that is considered “low,” according to trail officials. Safety-conscious, emergency responders in Boone County have also been encouraged to think outside of the box since the Hatfield-McCoy trails came to the area.

Boone County Ambulance Authority emergency responders designed their own ATV and outfitted it as a life-saving vehicle to transport riders who are injured on the trail.

They agree that the marked trails help them in their job to respond to ATV accidents in the area.

The credit, according to Lusk, is a good design in the Hatfield-McCoy Tails system, attributed to Bill Reed, who conceptualized a looping trail system for the Hatfield-McCoy Trails.

“There are no dead-ends in our trail. You don’t drive one way, stop, then have to turn around and drive back out. Everything connects in loops,” Lusk said.

“Right now, our number one complaint along the trail system is that there is not enough lodging,” Lusk said, further stating that some of the trail systems average hundreds of calls a week requesting information on lodging close to the trailheads.

Often, these callers are disappointed to learn that they must drive tens of miles out of their way to find suitable lodging. “The average stay of the Hatfield-McCoy Trail ATV rider is the area is three days,” Lusk said. “Give us five more years and we’ll expand from 600 miles of trails right now to 1,000 miles. Currently we’re the number one trail system in the northeast. Give us those five years, and we plan on being the number one trail in the nation,” Lusk said.

Long-term plans for the Hatfield-McCoy Trails also include a 4x4 park in Kanawha County and designated trail areas for equestrian and other non-motorized users.