Well, it's finally happening. After seeing a post about police running people out this last weekend (see post under Hillsville), I decided to do some research. I called the Saline Township Police Department (the riding area is there, just outside of Wellsville jurisdiction). According to the police department, they were indeed ticketing people and running them out. The area is private property (5 or 6 owners) and the property owners have requested that the police shut down the area. This really sucks because the place is awesome. The officer did say it had a lot to do with the trash, burned out cars, broken bottles, etc... For more info, you can call the Saline Township Police Department at 1-330-532-1675. Please remember, the police are only doing there job. If you call, be polite and respectful. If you have a problem with this situation, its with the people who who took advantage of the situation and ruined it for everyone.

 

HMMMMMM.......Thought I already responded to your post Colin. Musta' been in "Time", also.
Too bad, I kinda wanted to check that place out! Guess NOT, now!!!!
We'll have to check out "Big Rock" in Maysville KY. this winter. Also Haspin Acres, near Richmond Ind. Both are pay-to-play places. Beats sofa racing!!!!!

 

Yeah, that was in "Time" [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Just keep me posted on road trips. Work gets slow in the winter so my weekends are usually pretty free. Pay to play is no big deal. When someone charges you $8 for a 1 1/2 hour movie, I don't think its that bad of a deal to ride all day for $15 or $20.

 

This is a letter I got from the Ohio Multiuse Trail Assn. If you want to help, drop Bill an e-mail.


Dear Enthusiast,
Good News!!!

OMTA though the efforts of Jerry Richmond (Northeast trail riders) has talked to Hillbilly , Graig Roberts, and given him the OMTA message, we want to make it right, help clean up the 1300 aces that folks refer to as Wellsville. Hillbilly (one of the owners) is glad to hear from us and wants to set up a meeting with Mr. Springer, himself and the other owner of the area and us, OMTA!

This is a golden opportunity for off road people to preserve a riding area in Ohio that now provides 4 wheel drive , Quad, motorcycle and mountain bikes a recreational outlet.
Years of use from riders, probable abuse from local folks who see the area as a convenient place to dump, have given our membership both a chance and a challenge to prove their sincerity, right a lot of wrongs, and provide long term access for true multi-use recreation.

With honesty and our knowledge of the system there is every reason to believe we can (with a long term commitment from the owners) apply for grant money to make Wellsville an Ohio off-road destination available for all our partners!

The parable of the ant and the grasshopper will apply to Wellsville, we will need lots of ants, they have had grasshoppers before. Anyone who is familiar with the history of the area knows that Mr. Springer has had his share of grief from riders in the area, he is also the largest land owner.

To meet this challenge we will need the co-operation of both off road clubs and individuals.

There will be more information as we progress though meetings with the owners and planning begins.

We all belong to national recreation access groups, we write and participate on national issues (or should), this is chance to work on a state level issue that (when we succeed) we can actually ride on.

If you have a group, please get them involved, ask them to join our group. If they already belong to a group ask them to join as an organization as well as individuals. Ask them to go to ohiotrails.org to see our constitution and by-laws. They can also download a membership form.

I am in contact with a couple of folks who are in the process of opening riding areas that are not on the table yet. This is a very exciting time for us, with a positive result here more opportunities will result.

Please respond, we will need people with equipment and people with backs, if you can supply either or all, give me a heads up

Yours truly
Bill Kaeppner
kaeppner@hockinghills.net

 

Thanks for the info unclemuck.

 

Wellsville is an awesome place, I don't know of anyplace else like it in the area. I never had any desire to join a club before, but if there is a club that thinks it has any chance to keep this area open, let us all know. When I read this there were 213 wiews, and that is only a fraction of the number of people that were riding at wellsville on any weekend. There has to be thousands of people who want to continue to ride there. What can we do?

 

Keep people informed. Even though Im not in Ohio now, I used to ride wellsville often.
I know Many people in the 3 rivers competition team that would gladly help in the cleaning, We did the same thing for Shenango, and Marrienville a few years back.
Good luck on keeping our riding areas open.

 

Okay, let me defend the natives of the Wellsville Pits.
I have lived and rode in Wellsville, all my life. It is not always the locals stirring up the trouble. We also get out of towners who like to ride their vehicles on our main streets in town. Trust me, we all have taken abuse from the local police, even us who have purchased street tags. They tried, to form a club, requiring a membership to ride at the "Pits" They asked an outrageous amount and to be paid yearly, also promising to clean up the place and have bathroom facilities and making mud bogs and such. Sorry thing is, there were those who actually paid for a membership, only to get ripped off when the folks trying to run it left, losing their money in the process. Most locals I know, clean up their trash and there are different places where folks put aluminum cans because there are those who come down to collect them. Burnt up cars.......there is more to that than what is being told. If you ever been there, by the time you would get a vehicle down in those "Pits" there wouldn't be much left to burn.
I for one, would like to see the place made into a legitimate riding club, but not run by crooks. Our little village benefits greatly when guys come in to ride, they spend money in our town.
More power to the decent folks who can make this happen.Text

 

I took the liberty to call the police department today. They confirmed the bad news. Yellow Creek is now off limits and is a "ride at your own risk" area. The township road (ole dird road) which crosses over the tracks is now CLOSED permanently. Anyone cought parking a motor vehicle on the other side of the tracks will be cited. Conrail is removing the crossing and any further traffic will be considered illegal. The landowners are fed up and want the area shut down. 3 more cars were found burnt and stripped the other day to add to the problem. What a shame [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] I had planned on doing an article on Yellow Creek, but whats the sense now? Does anyone know the landowner/landowners personally that can find out if ATV use can still be permitted with written permission? The police were VERY cooperative and suprisingly on OUR side, but they have to uphold the Owners wishes.

 

Hey Extreme?

Which police dept. did you call? Was it Wellsville or Saline Twp.?

A bunch of guys were just riding down there all day Sunday, from around noon till 7 p.m. There were several riders down there that day. Yellowcreek "Pits" has always been a "ride at your own risk" area. My guess is, the owners who are raising heck are the two who started the so called "membership" a couple years ago and walked away with around $30, 000 and guys got ripped off. The EPA has been on some of the property owners about trash down there, which we are trying to get it into the works, as far as getting something going with this area. There are several ways into the "Pits", you just have to know the right people and know how to get in.........there is always a way. Hopefully, we can "develop" something with the owners as long as we can keep certain individuals out of it.