By Charles Owens
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
WELCH — McDowell County officials are experiencing increased traffic in the Hatfield-McCoy Trail system.
McDowell County is unique in that it is home to two Hatfield-McCoy Trails. The Indian Ridge Trail is located in Ashland near the town of Northfork and the newer Warrior Trail is located close to the city of War.
Some of the traffic to the Warrior Trail passes through the city limits of Welch, according to Welch Mayor Harold McBride.
“Our ATV business is picking up daily,” McBride said. “Everybody loves the Warrior Trail. To get there you come right through Welch. We are gaining.”
Many older structures in the county, including some that once housed restaurants, have been converted into ATV lodging.
As an example, the old Pizza Hut building and the former Long John Silver building are now new bed and breakfast facilities serving ATV tourists. Pizza Hut relocated to another site in the city near Advance Auto Parts and Save A Lot.
“We are getting some super nice cabins and places to stay,” McBride said. “Top of the line too. The old Pizza Hut has been redone into about nine bedrooms or baths.”
McBride said many of the ATV tourists who are traveling deep into McDowell County to ride the Warrior Trail also will stop to eat at restaurants in Welch and to purchase gas. The city has seen several new eating establishments open within the last year, including a new Taco Bell.
“It’s moving in the right direction,” McBride said. “It takes time. We will get there.”
According to the Hatfield-McCoy Trail Authority, the Warrior Trail system also connects with the Indian Ridge trail system near Ashland, the Pocahontas Trail system near Bramwell in neighboring Mercer County and with the Pinnacle Creek Trail in neighboring Wyoming County. The Warrior Trail system also connects with the city of Gary, according to the trail authority. It has direct access to gas, food and lodging.
Meanwhile the Indian Ridge Trail, which was one of the first Hatfield-McCoy Trails to open, also connects with the Warrior Trail and the Pocahontas Trail as well as the Pinnacle Creek Trail. It offers a trailhead where permits and merchandise can also be purchased at the adjoining Ashland Resort.
Chris Zeto, marketing director for the Hatfield-McCoy Trail Authority, didn’t immediately respond Friday to questions about the Warrior Trail and how traffic from it is benefiting the city of Welch. But preliminary statistics released last week suggest continued trail growth in the region, including in neighboring Mercer County.
According to that preliminary data, 22,641 trail permits were sold in Mercer County in 2025, including 16,460 non-resident permits and 6,181 West Virginia permits.
But in order to keep growing the number of ATV visitors in McDowell County, additional attractions are needed, according to McBride.
“We are working on trying to get some things as far as the city of Welch,” McBride said. “We need some zip lines and a rollercoaster and things for people to do when they come in. Basketball courts and pickleball courts and ice cream shops for people when they come off the trail.”
The city helped to bring the latter to reality. McBride said the city’s new ice cream shop should be reopening for the spring.
“We closed for the winter,” McBride said of the new ice cream shop. “We should be opening it back up for spring. It’s unique in itself.”
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