By Riley McCoy
For The Register~Herald
Beckley — As he walked through fresh dirt and crouched under tree branches, Mitch Lehman looked beyond the horizon to admire the first mile of a trail he helped create.
For Lehman, Beckley’s director of outdoor economic development, Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting at Stanaford Grove was less a finish line than the first visible step in a much larger plan unfolding inside Piney Creek Preserve.
“So, this is kind of our soft opening,” Lehman said. “It’s currently a mile trail, and it’ll expand to be around five miles of trail, but it serves as a critical link headed toward the nearby Gorge National Park boundary.”
Purchased in 2019, the first mile opened through a partnership that included the City of Beckley, West Virginia Land Trust, Beckley Area Trails, the Brad and Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative at WVU, the Beckley Area Foundation, Raleigh County Parks and Recreation, the Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce and other local funding and trail-support partners.
Lehman thanked West Virginia University’s outdoor economic development collaborative for helping Beckley navigate a form of trail development that was still new to the city.
“They provide technical assistance to communities that are going after these outdoor recreation development projects,” Lehman said.
He later described the West Virginia Land Trust as the anchor of the effort, stating the organization “owns and manages this property” and works with Beckley through a collaborative agreement that allows the city to help “maintain and improve this property.”
Organizers framed the site as more than a recreation space, noting that the trailhead is on former coal mine property and also sits near one of the region’s labor flashpoints. The Battle of Stanaford, fought Feb. 25, 1903, was an armed raid against miners on strike against the coal company and the final episode of the 1902 New River coal strike.
Shannon Gillen, preserve steward with the West Virginia Land Trust, said the Stanaford Grove opening marked the latest phase of a much larger property the organization already acquired.
“We obtained the Piney Creek Preserve back in 2019, and it’s just over 600 acres total,” Gillen said. “This is the Stanaford Grove Trailhead, and it’s actually part of a larger preserve, the Piney Creek Preserve.”
Gillen said the new routes stand apart from many other Land Trust trails because “in general, a lot of our trails are multi-use trails,” adding, “these are a little bit different [because] they’re mountain-bike optimized.”
For Alice Almond of Beckley Area Trails, the new trails meant more than a ceremonial opening. As one of the adults who helps lead Raleigh County’s youth mountain biking effort, she framed the system as a long-awaited change for riders who had spent much of the last season circling familiar ground.
“Last year we rode the same trails over and over,” Almond said. “So for us to be able to ride on new trails, so I know they’re going to be so excited when we get to come back out and see all of the work that’s been done from all the project partners.”
Del. Eric Brooks, R-Raleigh, said the project would serve more than one audience by giving both residents and visitors a new way to enjoy the area.
“Not only is it good for locals,” Brooks said. “But it’s good for guests that are coming, including families who can take a little bit of our nature in and enjoy what God has given us here in this part of our state.”
As for completion of the full project, Lehman estimates that could take more time.
“For the full thing, probably at minimum, five years,” Lehman said. “We’re relying on federal funding, which doesn’t move super quickly, but at least we’re set up to move in that direction.”
The Stanaford Grove trailhead is located to the right if you’re coming down the hill past Stanaford Elementary.
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