The throttle rests under your thumb.  The engine purrs, but you can tell it’s waiting to roar.  You’re wearing a helmet for the first time since you went whitewater rafting all those years ago.  Welcome to Southern West Virginia – it’s time to ride.

ATV Riding in West Virginia

This post is going to deal mostly with ATVs, and is aimed squarely at the beginner.  So if you’re Joe Four-wheeler, this is going to cover some familiar terrain.  But if you’re Jane SUV, there’s probably a lot to learn here.  And there are a lot of you out there – dealers sell more than half of new ATVs to people who are buying them for the first time.

The biggest draw to ATV riding is that they’re easy to use.  Most machines are ones you can pretty much jump on and go with just a little bit of a demo. If you’re going on an ATV trip, you can always rent your machines, and a lot of rental centers offer guides for your trip.

Good thing too – these machines rip!  You’re looking at upper 40s to low 70s for MPH on most utility machines. That’s just another good reason to always (and we don’t mean sometimes) put a helmet on.  Sure, your brother-in-law wearing a helmet is like putting a guard dog on a vacant lot, but still… has to be done.

Last, ATVs are a blast.  You really don’t know how great an ATV trip is until you’ve gone and done some trail riding yourself, but lets just say that getting dirty has never been this much fun.  The trails lead you out into nature -fast!- and you can explore just how much power you’re willing to give that machine you’re sitting on.

It goes without saying that Southern West Virginia is ATV heaven – or does it?  Did you know that there was the largest contiguous trail system in the east here?  Or that there was a brand new ATV park outside of Beckley? The sport is worth checking out, especially of you’re already planning on spending some time in the area.  You might be surprised at what an ATV trip can do for a family vacation – add a little octane to yours and find out.