What’s with all the trails, trails and more trails?
The Music Trail continues to grow. The Quilt Trail was a huge success. The Bicentennial Trout Project caught the attention of our county. It presents the art community with the perfect opportunity to expand on its Art Trail in the county.
What better time to build upon the Art Trail already present in Marlinton and Pocahontas County? In 2022, we will begin the transition from Bicentennial and move forward to Tricentennial.
Artists should consider getting together to help to create a marketing buzz. Help your collections to be seen and appreciated. Join forces to make a plan now, because visitors are planning their trips now.
Adding to this traffic is the mountain biking trails being developed and improved in Pocahontas County. Those trails are now approaching 400 miles and are bringing more and more visitors to our region.
A few short years ago, could you have imagined the Mercedes Benz UCI World Cup coming to Snowshoe Mountain? I am glad others imagined such a possibility. World Cup events in Pocahontas County cannot be overstated. The opportunity to welcome international visitors is an opportunity to allow Appalachian Mountain hospitality to shine on the world stage.
For more than three years, the Town of Marlinton and the Pocahontas County Convention and Visitors Bureau have actively participated in the Snowshoe-Highlands Area Recreation Collaborative (SHARC). The collaborative efforts of many groups – public and private – resulted in the first International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) Ride Center in West Virginia. The long-term goal to develop a mountain bike economy that equals winter snow sports is achievable with planning, construction and marketing. This added biking economy from April through October will help stabilize our county employment and provide Snowshoe Resort guaranteed year-round operations. All tourism related businesses will benefit. This process has been to enhance communities through sustainable recreation and it’s working.
Now, imagine a tourism-based product being manufactured, or assembled and tested, in Pocahontas County.
Sam
