BELLE, W.Va. – The Kanawha Valley is celebrating West Virginia’s newest off-road riding destination this weekend as the Appalachian Outlaw Trails host “Outlawfest” over Memorial Day weekend.
While the trails located near Belle are not quite ready to open to the public yet, owners Chris Inghram and Eric Larch want to welcome the community to the site to see their progress and show their gratitude.
“Our goal is to just get the community together, show them what we’ve got going on and what we’ve progressed through so far, have some live music, some fireworks, some events, food trucks, vendors, and just get our local community together,” Larch said this week on MetroNews Midday.
Outlawfest is bringing five live music acts, professional fireworks, a vehicle show, dirt drags, competitions, and more to the area on both Friday and Saturday.
When phase one of the trails is complete, it will include 25,000 acres with trails for UTVs, ATVs, dirt bikes, and full-size vehicles, as well as mountain biking and hiking. Inghram said they are steadily making progress toward completion.
“We work, usually, six days a week at least, whether it’s working on the campsites or the trails or the single-track system. Most recently, we’ve been working on some dirt drag courses and some hard enduro courses for the bike guys and a little rock section for the full-size guys,” he said.
The team behind the Appalachian Outlaw Trails broke ground at the future site of the complex’s welcome center in October, and the next steps are getting close to fruition. As progress continues, more people around the area are starting to take notice.
“It doesn’t seem like a dramatic difference, but then you get people that haven’t been up in months, and they’re just blown away. They’re like, ‘Guys, the amount of work you guys are putting in, the way you’re making this place look is just outstanding, and that’s been really encouraging for Chris and I, just the labor of love that it has been,” Larch said.
With Outlawfest ready to kick off on Friday, Larch and Inghram hope to show some love for the community that has supported them throughout the process. They hope to give a little bit back to the people they credit for making this possible.
“The local community is super excited. The feedback has been great. Their excitement makes, for me and Eric, all the labor worth it, and they’re excited, so we’re definitely looking forward to it,” Inghram said.
Outlawfest begins at 4pm and goes until 11pm on both Friday and Saturday.