Across the US Jeep enthusiasts are losing access to public trails every month. While some new OHV parks are opening, many charge $40 or more per day and sometimes PER PERSON. That’s why it’s refreshing to see a new OHV park open that’s FREE, large enough to accomodate many Jeeps (over 200 miles of marked trails) with terrain diverse enough to satisfy stock Jeeps and hardcore rockcrawlers alike. But to me, the more amazing part of this OHV park is the fact that it’s operated by a local government. No need to put a tinfoil hat on, the government in this case is the county of Harlan Kentucky and the reason they’ve created the Black Mountain Recreation Park is to stimulate the economy of this mining area. What a fantastic idea! They’ve taken a mining area and converted into a tourist attraction, one that guarantees business for the gas stations, convenience stores, garages, hotels and restaurants in town. More business means more jobs, which is good for the economy and the people of this county and Kentucky.
Now you know I’m impressed with the concept but what about their website? That’s what we’re here to discuss and I’m happy to say their website is well organized, professional, pleasant to browse and packed with information for anyone considering a visit to the area. You’ll find info on the Black Mountain Recreation Park, recent news, area accomodations, directions, an online store for related merchandise (like trail maps), a photo gallery and a discussion forum. Well done. Despite being loaded with graphics and pictures, the websites loads nice and fast on my 1.5 Mbps connection. Navigation lacks a “home” button but you can click the logo at the top to return to the main page.
I haven’t visited the Black Mountain Recreation Park in Harlan County, Kentucky yet but I live close enough that it’s on my to-do list for this year.
Based on their website, my expectations are high. If you’d like to visit beautiful southeastern Kentucky for some diverse fourwheeling at the unheard of price of FREE (a rarity east of the Mississippi), check out the Kentucky Mountain Trails website.
And if you’re a small town with an abundance of land and a need for an economic boost, consider Harlan County, KY as a model for bringing Jeep tourism dollars to your area.
- Link type: organization web site
- Link: http://www.harlancountytrails.com
- Common mispellings: Harlen, Harlon
- Abbreviations: KY = Kentucky
