$2.16 million mountain bike park planned for hills and valleys near Clendenin

Construction of the bike park’s trail system — incorporating jumps, berms, natural terrain features and 650 feet of vertical drop — is expected to begin this summer and be completed in 12 to 18 months.

“It will be a world-class destination,� said Jake Smith, leader of the Kanawha Adventure Impact Alliance, the group that will build and operate the facility.

‘Why not have something like this in West Virginia?’

Unlike bike parks that operate in conjunction with ski resorts and are open only during warm-weather months, Air Raid Bike Park will be open year-round, according to Smith, boosting the potential for rider visits.

After sampling the trails at year-round bike parks like Rock Creek in Zirconia, North Carolina, and Windrock Mountain Bike Park in Oliver Springs, Tennessee, with other members of the Adventure Impact Alliance team, “We thought, ‘Why not have something like this in West Virginia?’� Smith said.

Once they met with Clendenin Mayor Kay Summers, council member Dave Knight and other town officials, they learned that a property a few miles east of the Elk River community might fit the bill for the bike park.

The former Morris Creek Wildlife Management Area, which fell out of state control in 2021 after the owner of the property declined to renew a lease for the land, was later bought by brothers Kevin and Delbert Hoover, of the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, area.

The Hoover brothers, who attended Wednesday’s ceremony, liked the idea of leasing a portion of their 8,600-acre tract for the creation of a mountain bike park, which also met the qualifications for an Abandoned Mine Lands Economic Revitalization Program grant. The $2.16 million grant was awarded in February.

“We’ve gone from vision to ribbon-cutting in less than a year,â€� said ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä physician and bicyclist Rick Bowman, a member of the Kanawha Adventure Impact Alliance. “The DEP’s permitting process is moving along at rapid speed, and the Kanawha County Commission will be helping us bring utilities to the site.â€�

Clendenin, the site of devastating flooding in 2016, “is resilient beyond belief, but has been dealt too many cannonballs to the stomach,� Gov. Jim Justice said at Wednesday’s ceremony. “It makes me happy to help make this bike park become a reality.�

Smith, Bowman and their partners — Ian Custer and J.C. Gould — hope to bring other, as-yet unspecified, recreational activities to the bike park. Eric Thompson, director of Access on the Go, is working with the alliance to ensure accessibility needs are met at the park.

“This is a great opportunity to bring more tourism into the county and provide more outdoor recreation for county residents,� Kanawha County Commission President Lance Wheeler said.