Wilderness Trail Off-Road Park

We at the Bell County Fiscal Court, the Holler Crawlers, and Wilderness Trail Off-Road Park are very happy to announce that Yahama Motor will be funding the Fiscal Court $12,500 for the development of new wooded trails on the park for 2012 and for new roadside signs.

Being a free park means we do not generate direct revenue. That is why Yamaha’s GRANT (Guaranteeing Responsible Access to our Nations Trails) program is so important. They funded us in 2009 for trail upkeep equipment as well as trail signs and were gracious enough to fund us again.

We know that a lot of folks love our park. We have unmatched scenery, great places to fish and camp, and plenty of trails for beginning riders. One thing we have wanted to add for several years is more wooded trails. We have quite a few, but some of them dead end, and we always knew that we needed to add more. This grant will enable us to do just that!

We will be working with Southeast Community College Workforce Solutions who will be donating some time and money in match for this grant. The work will begin this summer and should be done just in time for the Haunted Forest Ride, which will be October 19-20.

We will be bringing everyone sneek peeks with pictures and videos of new trails, will have contests to name some of the new and existing trails, and keep everyone informed where the new trails are with updated maps.

So stay tuned, 2012 is looking to be a great year for WTOP! Make sure to click the Yamaha logo above to visit their website.

Taken from www.hollercrawlers.com
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Two weeks ago our good friend and worlds most famous Holler Crawler Brian Fisher came down to Wilderness Trail Off-Road Park with his wife Melissa and crew, along with some folks from Progressive Insurance. Brian visited for 4 days and hung out with Holler Crawler members. We rode the park, filmed, spent some quality time around the ole campfire, and even went to Norris Lake for a day. It was a great way for our club members to have a cool event just for them without having to work and worry about every minute detail of a major event. Brian also used his time to shoot some promos and commercials, and it’s cool to know that our ATV park will be the backdrop of those.

It was wonderful to meet the good people from Progressive. All 5 who came down from Cleveland were a pleasure to be around. Also, although we learned that most all of them were novice riders, you wouldn’t have known it! They tackled some of Bell County’s roughest and rockiest trails and looked like old pros doing it! We were very glad that they came down and got to see what we think is one of the most beautiful places in southeast Kentucky. It’s amazing how our sport can take people from such different backgrounds and unite them in such a short period of time. They were from Cleveland, we are from the rural part of Kentucky, but by the end of the trip we had formed a fast friendship. Again, it was a pleasure meeting all of them and we hope they come back and visit us again soon.

We can’t say enough good things about Brian and what his show means in promoting not only Wilderness Trail Off-Road Park, but the Holler Crawlers as well. Brian has bar-none the most popular (and the best) ATV show on television, because just like his slogan says, he ‘keeps it real’. He’s a real person, a normal person who uses his show to connect with fans and focus on the entire atmosphere of trail riding. That’s why he is the face of ATV and UTV trail riding, because he connects on every aspect of the sport. And one of the biggest parts of our sport is the camaraderie you develop with your fellow riders. Brian realizes this as much as anyone and that’s why he has become so successful. That and the fact he, Melissa, and the entire crew work very hard at what they do. If you think all he does is ride ATVs, you’re way off. Filming and developing a high quality show like Fisher’s ATV World is extremely detailed and takes a ton of preparation and hard work. They deserve all the credit they get for making a great show.

We had some folks ask why the general public didn’t know about this event. The reason was that we had a set schedule of things we needed to film and focus on. The past two times Brian has visited the park we have had huge events, and he will be back this October 19-21 for the Haunted Forest Ride. He has always been extremely grateful and nice to his fans, taking pictures and signing posters for hours on end. And I am sure he will again do so at the Haunted Forest Ride. This visit was meant to specifically focus on the park and was meant to create a show that focused less on a huge event and more on Wilderness Trail Off-Road Park. We told him we would save the big event for the Haunted Forest Ride, which is shaping up to be a monster of an event (pun intended).

Anyway, we will let everyone know when this show will air. Until then, here are just a few pictures from the trip. See everyone at the Haunted Forest Ride on October 19-21!!!

Fisher, Progressive Crew, and some Holler Crawlers stopped for lunch on trail
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Fishers tour bus at the Sam Low Pond
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Holler Crawler founder Jon Grace outfishes Brian with a score of 1-0. Jon and Brian had engaged in some friendly smack talk about who was going to out-fish who…and as you can see, Jon won. The fishing trip to Norris Lake was cut short to only an hour due to thunderstorms, or Jon would have caught many, many more. We’re still uncertain how many Brian would have caught, but we are certain it would have been considerably less…
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Fisher and crew chatting with some Holler Crawlers at base camp.
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Until then, if you want to ride with us, check our facebook page and our forum for the latest guided rides coming up!

And also make sure to tune into Fisher’s ATV World every Monday on the Outdoor Channel at 4:30 and 9:30 PM, as well as 12:30 AM Tuesday. As mentioned earlier, Fisher is coming back to Bell County as part of the 4th Annual Haunted Forest Ride Oct 19-21. You can view all the dates of the 2012 “Keepin It Real Tour” at http://keepinitreal.fishersatvworld.com

Also, if you are in the market of insuring your ATV or side x side (or boat, RV, etc…), make sure to check into Progressive Insurance. They have low rates and great coverage, and are friends of the club as well. Visit their website at www.progressive.com

Hey yall!

Make sure to mark your calendars for two events coming up this summer!

We have a benefit ATV ride for LcCpl Cody Evans and his family this upcoming Saturday, May 5th. We will meet near the Sam Low Pond campground, which is accessed from the Hwy 119 Trailhead and is about 3 miles up the gravel road near the big pond (we will have signs out directing folks). There will be on and off park guided rides at 10 AM and noon, as well as some live music that evening around a bonfire. We are raising money for Codys family, and while there is no minimum donation, we ask that everyone give as much as they can to help this true American Hero.

Also, for those who are into rail buggies, the folks at Woods Buggies will be hosting their Hill Climb Championship Series at WTOP on Saturday, June 16th. This will be a great event for those who enjoy rail buggies or simply watching them climb some serious hills! For more info on this ride, visit www.woodsbuggy.com

Hey folks, make sure next time you’re on the park to check out the new shelter/picnic/camping area at the Sam Low Pond, on the Hance’s Ridge side of the park near the intersection of trails 66 and 54. Its right beside the big pond on top of the mountain about 2 miles past the Hwy 119 Trail Entrance.

Hope everyone enjoys! Thanks to Daniel and his crew at the county garage for building it for our visitors to enjoy. Please make sure to use the trash can and help keep the area and the pond shoreline clean. Thanks!!!

Little do a lot of folks know, the ATV park is a great place to hunt hickory chickens (or morel mushrooms as yall northerners call em).

I found this one just walking alongside the trail the other day. A bushel of these, fried up in batter makes for a DELICIOUS dinner. So if you’re on the park the next week (which is about all the time left to find them I would imagine since we’ve had an early spring)…stop by a creek and see if you can find a few for dinner. Theyre great to eat.

Happy hunting!

Check out the event flier below for info! Will be an awesome event to watch if you’re into buggies.

Great news regarding trailside rentals! The good folks at Marty’s ATV Oasis have expanded and added two beautiful new rental homes to what they already have! They are situated beside scenic Yellow Creek which also runs through the southwest end of the park. Check www.martysatv.com or call 606-670-7902 for pics, info, and rates! We also have a guy with a mobile home near Hwy 119 with direct trail access, and you can call Ted at 606-269-1474 for rates and booking info.

Howdy everyone! It’s almost time for the second national television appearance for Wilderness Trail Off-Road Park and the Holler Crawlers Off-Road Club. The show featuring the 2011 Holler Crawler Haunted Forest Ride will air today at 4 pm, 9 pm, and later tonight at 12:30 am on the Outdoor Channel. If you miss it, you can catch the replay on May 21st at the same time.

Since we assume a lot of folks are visiting our websites for the first time today, we want to give ya’ll the low down on what we have going on. Both the park and the club have some exciting things coming up in 2012.

First, we are planning on building a lot of wooded, more challenging trails on Wilderness Trail Off-Road Park this spring, summer, and fall. We are hopeful that we will receive funding in April to do this and the club is also planning on making some as well. We have some great new wooded trails like 100, 16B, and 11 that folks should make sure to check out! And keep an eye on www.wildernesstrailoffroadpark.net throughout the year for updates on these new wooded trails!

There will be two events this year, a benefit ride for a local marine called the Ride for Cody on May 5th and of course the 4th Annual Holler Crawler Haunted Forest Ride the weekend of Oct 19-21. We will be trying to break the ATV and Side X Side world record at this event and hope everyone can come! There will be a ton of spooky suprises for everyone this year, and it is free of charge to enter (no fee for riding the park, either!). Plus, our buddy Brian Fisher from Fisher’s ATV World will again be on hand checking the event out! For info on both these events stay tuned to www.hollercrawlers.com/events as we will be updating it in the very near future!

Besides these two events, the Holler Crawlers also host free guided rides usually a few times a month. You can get info on these guided rides by joining our free web forum or keeping up with us on Facebook. Anyone is welcome! We will post details like how long the ride is, when and where to meet, as well as what kind of trails you can expect.

The next guided ride is scheduled for Saturday, March 3. We will meet at 9:00 AM at the Dairy Queen in Pineville, KY and will be leaving there by 9:30 AM sharp. We should be on the trails by 10. This will be a 60-70 mile ride so bring extra gas if you feel it will be needed. The trails will be a variety, from easy to challenging, so be preparded for anything. If we are assured rain, the ride will be rescheduled to March 10th. Right now theres only a small possibility that morning but that could change, so please pay attention to our forum and facebook page for the lastest update on this ride. If you have any questions about this guided ride, or anything about the club, just email us at hollercrawlers@hotmail.com

If you want to check out some videos of past guided rides, just go to www.youtube.com and type in “holler crawlers”. Heres a video of a ride just a few weekends ago that we took for ya’ll to enjoy…

We hope that you and yours will plan a trip to Bell County, KY this year to check out some guided rides and events. All our events are free, and riding Wilderness Trail Off-Road Park is completely free as well. On benefit rides, we only ask that people donate what they can afford to, and know that it goes to a great cause.

Make sure to register on the web forum by clicking here and start chatting it up with Holler Crawler nation!
And click the images below to like both the Holler Crawlers and Wilderness Trail Off-Road Park on Facebook, and make sure to RSVP to our events on the Holler Crawler page!

Thanks again to Brian Fisher and crew and make sure to check out their website at www.fishersatvworld.com!

Make sure to tune into the Outdoor Channel this Monday February 27th to catch Brian Fisher’s return to Wilderness Trail Off-Road Park for this past years Holler Crawler Haunted Forest ride! It comes on at 4 PM, 9 PM, and 12:30 AM.

Looking to be a great episode! Check out the clip below:

We all know our sport is dangerous. And in the case of a serious accident where you need to be flown out by helicopter, it can be REALLY expensive as well. That’s why everyone who rides in this area should be a member of Air Evac. Membership is only $50 a year for a single membership ($55 a couple and $60 for 3 or more) and will ensure you a cost-free flight if you ever should need it…which is a… lot better than the average cost of $20,000 that a helicopter ride to the nearest trauma unit can run you. This is a very smart investment. If you’re serious about riding in southeast Kentucky, this is a no-brainer. Call Bo Farmer for more information at 606-499-7660.