Fayette County ATV trails get state funding boost
The region’s largest set of ATV trails is getting $140,000 from the state to plan new trails and to build a new trailhead building with restrooms and a pavilion, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced Thursday.
Indian Creek Valley ATV Club , located near Seven Springs in northeast Fayette County, oversees about 750 acres of land with 40 miles of trails, said club President Al Sain.
The trails, which are accessible to the group’s 333 members and to outsiders for a $20 daily fee, draw many riders from Westmoreland and Allegheny counties, Sain said.
Westmoreland County has the most registered ATVs in the state, with 12,366, followed by Allegheny County’s 11,366 registrations, according to DCNR data.
“This is the closest place for all those residents to come,” Sain said.
The group hasn’t been able to expand further in its Indian Creek Valley location and is looking building more trails in nearby areas, he said.
The DCNR dedicated about $30,000 for a master plan and about $110,000 for a new trailhead building. The group’s headquarters now consist of a couple of trailers with the wheels cut off and an old camper, along with some portable toilets and tents over picnic tables, Sain said.
The grants, which require 20 percent matches from the group, will help build an office with storage space for the group’s tractor and tools along with restrooms and a covered eating area.
The trails accommodate ATV users and dirt-bikers.
Five sites with trails in Columbia, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Lackawanna, Susquehanna, Wayne and McKean counties also received state grant money.
There are about 185,000 registered ATVs and about 34,000 registered snowmobiles in the state, according to the DCNR announcement. The vehicles must be registered, and registration money helps maintain the trails, the announcement said.
“We know improved riding means more visitors, whose numbers can have a positive economic impact on nearby communities,” DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said in a news release.
Wes Venteicher is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Wes at 412-380-5676, wventeicher@tribweb.com or via Twitter @wesventeicher.
