27-mile mountain bike trail system being built in Pocahontas County

MARLINTON, W.Va. (WBOY) — Construction on a new trail system for mountain bikes is underway in Pocahontas County, and officials hope the addition will push the county into the gold tier of mountain biking destinations.

Mon Forest Towns first announced the new “Monday Lick Trail System” back in March . The system will include 27 miles of trails near Marlinton and is being funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission. Now, construction is taking off, and a July feature by mountain bike news resource Singletracks revealed even more details about the project.

In 2020, the Ride Snowshoe Highlands, which includes the trails at Snowshoe Mountain, was designated as one of only two places on the East Coast at the Silver Level by the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA). But with this new system, Pocahontas County is going for the Gold Level distinction, of which there are only four places in the U.S .

The Singletracks feature said that Monday Lick’s bike-optimized singletrack system will offer more trail options for lower level bikers as well as new blue and black level flow trails that are meant to be fast and enjoyable for more experienced riders.

“One of the trails will be rated blue, and one will be rated black. While both of the trails are technically two-way, multi-use singletrack trails with a bike-optimized flavor, Munich envisions riders climbing the blue trail and descending the black trail. Alternatively, there’s a gravel forest service road that can be used as a climb to reach the top of the ridge,” the feature explained.

All the trails are still closed for now, but they could open either in the fall of 2024 or spring of 2025, according to Singletracks, depending on how the construction progresses.

Greenbrier Bikes, which is based on Marlinton will also offer shuttles to the top of the mountain so that riders can go down the 1,000 feet of vertical descent without having to ride back up.

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