I am trying to come up with a summer trip for my family and heard about Hatfield McCoy. I would like to know how the riding is (difficulty level)? I have a 7 year old son which has only been riding for about 1year. Its a 12hr trip for me and was wonder if its worth the trip?

I was looking at Browning Fork Trailhouse for lodging. 5 of us would be staying and we have 3 quads and 2 trucks. How is parking and overall stay??


Any other information/opinions would be great.

Thanks
Scott

 

The place you were considering for your lodging is a great place to stay and that would put you in the area of the Browning Fork system. However given that you have a youngster in tow, I would not recommend making that your home base. You should concentrate on the Pinnacle Creek system or the Little Coal River system instead. Of the 5 Hatfield McCoy trail systems currently open, those two have the least difficult (on average) trail miles when compared to the other 3 systems.

Now I'm sure you can all have a great and safe time on the Browning Fork trails too, but you will be exposing you and your family to a higher degree of risk. I'd recommend saving the Dingess Rum, Buffalo Mountain and Browning Fork systems for after you've had a little exposure at Pinnacle Creek or Little Coal River first. There is also a 6th trail system (Indian Ridge) that will be opening very soon (March 17th in fact). I have heard that anybody that shows up that weekend can ride that system for free. The free trail passes will only be available from the store at the new KOA in Ashland from what I understand (read a sneak peek ride report HERE on the 2nd page of postings). From the sounds of things the Indian Ridge system will be expanding in the future too. I have also heard that it is possible that this system may eventually interconnect with the Pinnacle Creek system.

Be sure to check out the trailsheaven (Hatfield McCoy) web site for an extensive list of lodging / camping possibilities and for access to the latest trail maps and regulations. Also, besides this forum you will find quadcrew.com as a great source for H/M information...

 

Yeah, what he said. Year before last we were at Lisa and Marty's, a crew from Florida came in with an 8 year old and a 90cc atv, the Green trails at Browning Fork were a little rough on the little guy, but the Pinnacle creek trail was very nice for them, we had told them that when they went to Pinnacle to pack a lunch and eat down by the stream, I think their whole family enjoyed it. But Lisa and Marty stay abreast of the trail conditions as they do change frequently. Enjoy, we go every October.

 

BTW, Lisa & Marty's AKA Browning Fork Trailhouse...

 

2TV, off topic, how do you like your grizz, good points/bad points?

 

Well, I've owned quite a few ATVs and have ridden many other models / brands too. I can honestly say that the 700 Grizzly is my favorite so far.

What really stands out to me that sets it apart from the others is that it feels light on it's feet and a lot of that is probably associated with the improved handling characteristics over the 660 Grizzly and the addition of the electronically assisted steering (EPS). To go along with this nimble feeling is a powerplant that is pretty good (not the most powerful by any means) and it has all of the features that I want in this type of ATV such as manually controlled instant-on 4WD, a manually controlled front diff lock, really good engine braking effect and independent controls for the front and rear brakes. Besides handling pretty good for an IRS machine, it has a lot of suspension travel, the fuel tank under the seat to help lower the center of gravity and one of the best (most comfortable) rides (I'd say comparable to an 800 Polaris Sportsman that I've ridden). The only machines that I've ridden that ride smoother have been Can-Ams (I've ridden a 500, 650 and an 800 Max).

The negatives are the price (kind of steep) and initially the shifter seemed a little stiff, however it has gotten a lot better over time as I have nearly 700 miles on the machine now...

 

Well good sounds like you're satisfied with the expense, I've got a KQ, I see people all the time trying to compare the two, but they never do. You can change the ECU settings on it right from the factory can't you?

 

Yes, you can modify the ECU on the Grizzly right from the instrument pod if you know the combinations of buttons to push (which is what you need to do if you change the type of air filter or change the exhaust system).

I've had a lot of seat time on King Quads too. I really like them for blazing trail in the woods (they also have a very light feel to them) but I don't care as much for the high speed handling manners. I like them better than the 660 Grizzly, definitely feels sportier. But I like the 700 Grizz better than the King Quad. The EPS on the Grizzly makes steering effortless and consistent in any kind of terrain and you can't even tell the difference between 2WD and 4WD mode (limited slip 4WD that is), plus the EPS also works somewhat like a steering damper and prevents some of the shock from moving the handlebars which affect your wrists and the steering.

The 700 KQ and Grizzly are also very similar acceleration wise. On a 400' run, my friend's KQ with stock tires beats me by a length (I'm running 26" 6 ply tires). Then when he switched to 27" 589's and me with the same tires, I beat him by about 1 1/2 lengths. All runs were in 4WD and my ECU parameter was at the stock setting...

 

Thank you for the information.

I will be planning a trip this summer and this place seems to be the best option right now. After talking with my wife, I think this may end being my brother in law, myself and some friends. After I told her how long the drive was she didn't seem to crazy about it.


Thanks Again