Honoring History: Trail Building in West Virginia
Intensive planning, design focused on ecosystem health and sustainability and collaborative building and construction are the name of the game in West Virginia. In collaboration with West Virginia University’s Brad and Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative, IMBA has guided communities in the state with a focus on honoring the land and the history of great trails.
Funding Trails
Before building the NICA course in 2019, Cacapon had roughly 10 miles of existing singletrack to ride. The trails were Civilian Conservation Corps-built and, as such, decidedly technical in flavor. So when IMBA announced Cacapon as one of the Trail Accelerator Grant awardees in early 2020, designing a master plan with trail diversity was a key priority.
Trail Building: Then and Now
For Cacapon, Thunderstruck is more than a return to old-school singletrack: it’s an ode to the park’s history. In 1934, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established Camp Morgan at the present-day site of the park’s main picnic area and they constructed 27 miles of trails and roads in the park. IMBA and West Virginia Trail Champions were stoked to stay true to the historic trails experience.
Maximizing Funding Momentum Across Agencies
"It's a combination of the passion of the local volunteers, the support of the local government and local citizens, the park, and this partnership with IMBA all rolled together that ultimately has led to this." - Mark Hoyle, Cacapon Foundation
Trail champion Mark Hoyle of the Cacapon Foundation shares the "how and why" behind the newest trails in the eastern West Virginia panhandle, and how the IMBA Trail Accelerator Grant aided in bringing them to life.
Trails in West Virginia represent both rich history and renaissance driven by strong partnerships, community enthusiasm, and a deep sense of place. IMBA’s long-standing collaboration with West Virginia University’s Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative has helped transform close-to-home trail access, grow youth ridership, and secure major federal investments. Despite challenging terrain and evolving capacity needs, communities across the state are building trail systems that strengthen local identity, economic vitality, and daily quality of life. Together, these efforts are shaping a future where trails are not just recreation, but part of West Virginia’s history, culture and the fabric of communities.
IMBA’s Kate Noelke caught up with Rich Edwards, Corey Lilly, and Jessica Sutton of West Virginia University’s Brad & Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative (WVU OEDC), and Liz Grades, IMBA planner, who share a love and an appreciation for West Virginia’s trails and outdoor recreation landscapes.
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| Kate Noelke, IMBA We have a long history of partnering together in West Virginia. Is there any particular moment that best accelerated community progress or created leverage for trails? |
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| Rich Edwards, WVU OEDC Foundational planning through the IMBA Trail Accelerator Grant (TAG) program has been transformational. TAG enabled large-scale plans in the Greenbrier Valley, Cacapon, Morgantown, and others, some of which have led to multi-million-dollar federal grants that would not have been possible without that level of planning. |
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| Liz Grades, IMBA Trail Solutions IMBA’s foundation in West Virginia is partnership, with community members, WVU OEDC, and local organizations. The people who live in these communities understand them best. Their insight shapes our work and determines what’s possible. Our partnerships with groups like Elkins Area Shared Trails (EAST) and various mountain-bike clubs have also been pivotal. These relationships create alignment and help us focus our planning and design where it’s most impactful. |
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| Corey Lilly, WVU OEDC Trails have gone from being an aspiration to being a part of daily life in many communities. People can now get in a ride before or after work because world-class systems are close to home. Youth mountain-bike teams now have purpose-built places to practice instead of open fields. Visitors are filling local coffee shops and bike shops on weekends, experiencing not just trails but the culture and history of our state. |
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| Jessica Sutton, WVU OEDC We couldn’t do any of this without strong partners. From local communities and trail-advocacy groups to state partners like the Department of Natural Resources and Department of Tourism, we work closely with planning and development councils, convention & visitor’s bureaus, county governments, and numerous federal agencies including the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Economic Development Administration and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to make trails happen. We also work with the West Virginia Land Trust and private entities like Snowshoe, whose hosting of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) World Cup brought major visibility to our outdoor assets. But our most important partners are our users and our communities. |
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| Liz What stands out most is how deeply communities embrace trails. Trails aren’t an add-on; they’re part of the fabric of West Virginia communities. Access to great trails, good food, welcoming towns, and affordable places to stay makes these communities special. Many of these places were once trail deserts. Now they’re becoming cohesive recreation hubs, not just for mountain bikers but for everyone. It’s exciting to watch and to continue contributing to that effort. |
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| Corey The partnership with IMBA and the depth of expertise IMBA brings has been absolutely critical. IMBA ensures that projects move forward successfully and give small communities the guidance they need to navigate these complex processes.I also love working with IMBA because they respect the culture of each community while bringing national-level expertise. |
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| Rich
The thank-you: I’m incredibly excited about the rebirth of the Ride Center and community designations program. During my time at IMBA, it was one of the most powerful tools for transforming trail enthusiasm into community enthusiasm.
The national request: we have a looming challenge with federal funding. It’s unlikely that the current level of outdoor-recreation funding will last forever. We need to look at successful models like the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson excise taxes, which generate over a billion dollars annually for wildlife and fisheries agencies. |
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| Kate What stands out to me is the connection between personal identity, community identity, cultural history, and trail systems. That connection is alive and powerful in West Virginia. It’s a core part of the fabric of your work and of what makes outdoor recreation here so special. |
Listen to the full interview:
Thunderstruck: Gnar-tastic Directional Downhill
There are few people in this world who know more about the trail planning and design process than Joey Klein and Chris Orr (or COrr). Collectively, these two have over 50 years of experience in the field and have helped hundreds of communities turn their trail dreams into realities. These two anchors in the mountain biking community have reimagined roles at IMBA as Community Engagement Specialists, and were foundational in the design and construction of Thunderstruck.
The Making of Thunderstruck
Thunderstruck is 1.7 miles of directional descending “gnar-tastic” rocky, technical trail. This description, penned by IMBA Trail Solutions’ Chris Orr, has been amplified by anyone that’s had the opportunity to flowcheck it. This black diamond trail, situated in Cacapon Resort State Park in West Virginia, is the park’s newest “signature trail” and was seen to completion thanks to the hard work of the Appalachian Conservation Corps, Cacapon Foundation volunteers, Cacapon Resort State Park’s Eric Fitzpatrick, and IMBA Trail Solutions.
IMBA + Appalachian Conservation Corps
A signature trail in Cacapon Resort State Park near Berkeley Springs, Thunderstruck was constructed through a collaborative effort between IMBA Trail Solutions and the Appalachian Conservation Corps. In this video on the trails and collaborations at Cacapon, you’ll hear the nuts and bolts from the Appalachian Conservation Corps on what hand-building in extreme, rocky terrain is like and the "why" behind IMBA’s educational approach with this unique build.
