Northumberland County OHV Park public meeting

[CoraC143]

I\'m taking my Jeep patriot and missing the meeting.  To join fingerLakes 4x4 you have to attend one event. We can call this an event and bring a membership form for ya. So Camo,  you can still do the membership thing and support our sport\'s future!  

[ollllllo]

We are enroute for the tour of the proposed park.
Photos and trip report to follow!

[Camo1Ton]

Awesome, can,t wait to see what they are working with.

[ollllllo]

I don\'t think I have ever been as excited about a \"proposed new park\" as I am after visiting Northumberland county.

Let me start by simply saying this property is unbelievable. 6 thousand acres spit in two by a surface road. The east property is aprox. 3 miles long while the West spans 5miles. The views are breathtaking, and the property seems to stretch on forever.

We met up with Barry who is the man with the plan. While he is not a state or county employee, he is working closely with the local and state government to help with planning and development. Some of the proposed plans we were told about were:

Welcome center / training center with bathrooms & showers
Tunnel unnder the road to connect both properties
Campground with RV hook-ups, multiple lakes for fishing and canoeing
Multiple camping areas throught the park (family areas & party areas)
Bath / shower facilities located within the trail network
Atv & ohv trails
Competition course
And more

The land is currently owned by Northumberland county and they are awaiting grants and other funding aproval to the tune of 3 million dollars.
Barry explained how the land was coal mine land last used prior to 1970. Therefore it was not required that the land be reclaimed. So it just sitting untouched. Barry and others told us they had been going there for 40 years, and the locals are still currently using it.

The master plan is to get all the funding in order, all the planning and design work completed, and be ready to work right away before they start closing the property down for construction.

They told us the plan is to start construction early 2011.

Barry explained how an agency called BAMR. Bureau of abandoned mine reclamation, has gobs and gobs of money to spend on re-claiming  coal mining land. He went on to explain how this agency will reclaim only what the park wants reclaimed. This means all the natural stone formations and glacial deposits won\'t get buried with dirt and grass. The reclamition process is going to include the fabrication of \"Hammers\" style rock trails that will require all day or even all weekend to complete.

We were taken on a 25 miles loop of the west property. we are told our tour didn\'t even put a dent in seeing the entire property. The views alone and the seemingly endless terrian is worth the trip.

Pictures to follow

[ollllllo]

The proposed trail head area.

[ollllllo]

Entering the West property.

[ollllllo]

Barry

And the map!

[ollllllo]

In attendance for the private tour were some of the Northumberland county officials, Board members from the Pennsylvania OHV association, and even a owner of an ATV dealership from outside Erie. They had ATV\'s, motocross bikes, and even a Side by side!

http://www.paohv.org/

[ollllllo]

Things to explore!

[ollllllo]

The view to the east property.

aproximatly 5 miles back to the east property line at this point in the tour. we were only about 2 miles or so into the west property.

in the second picture Barry is pointing to the opposite property line. East. Its the farthest bump that you can see on the horizon to the right of his arm!
 :rockstar:

[ollllllo]

And YES...Plenty of Rocks!

Barry explained to us that since there has been little to no Reclamation on this property, all the natural rock formations and glacial boulder fields common to the Pennsylvania mountains are still accessible.

Since the tour was more of a general sight seeing and informational visit, he did not have the time to take us to the big stuff. But he did mention that for example, on the mountain top, there are boulder fields and rock formations that as of today are only accessible on foot.

We as Fingerlakes 4x4 Club members now have an open invitation from the County Commissioner to return to the property anytime prior to the new construction.

Once the construction begins, the property will be shut down to trail riding and will not re-open until completed.

[ollllllo]

All of the days photos will be posted in the Gallery!

http://www.fingerlakes4x4.org/modules/Gallery/

[smichaelR22]

looks awesome guys!

[Camo1Ton]

It sounds great for everyone, county, state, local economy, the mining industry, and off-road enthusiasts. The area has the potential to be the next Rubicon trail or Moab or even Disney World of off-roading in the North East. The job creation and positive economic impact for PA is countless.  
Did anyone clock it for the park to home?
Hope New York is watching.


P.S. Nice CUCV Barry!

[Nick]

That looks like some great wheeling. What was that whales back thing? Just a huge slab of rock?