MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Visit Mountaineer Country CVB is ready to showcase plans for their large-scale, multi-county cycling project and upcoming events for 2025.
The 3rd Annual Visit Mountaineer Country Tourism Summit will take place on Monday, May 5, at the West Virginia University Erickson Alumni Center starting at 8 a.m., where tourism specialists and political leaders will take part in a presentation of initiatives from the north-central part of the state. President and CEO Susan Riddle is excited for what is in store for the summit that will include close to a dozen different state- and nationally based speakers as well as presentations for projects and events that are scheduled for 2025 and beyond.
“It’s a regional summit, and this is something with all of our CVBs in the Mountaineer Country Region,” said Riddle. “Which included Monongalia, Preston, Taylor, Barbour, Marion, Harrison, and Doddridge counties.”
Riddle expects the discussions of Mountaineer Gravel, a system that consists of 28 existing world-class mixed-surface cycling routes spanning over 1,000 miles of public property across the greater Morgantown area, to be a highlight for the 3rd Annual Visit Mountaineer Country Summit. To highlight that portion of the summit, Village-to-Village Trails owner and co-developer of Mountaineer Gravel David Landis will speak on the developments that have taken place over the years to make the project a reality.
“The phase we’re in now we will finish here soon, and it will be between Monongalia, Preston, Taylor, and Barbour counties,” said Riddle. “We will have over 1,500 miles of routes and close to a dozen hubs.”
The summit is also expected to promote at least one event that will involve Mountaineer Gravel and another that is set to formally open within the next couple of years. This will include the 2025 Mountaineer Monster bikepacking event scheduled for the fall as well as a presentation of Geowoodstock, a geocaching program that uses modern devices to promote landmarks as part of an interactive tour of a certain area that includes collaborations with local tourism experts. Riddle feels summits like this allow for Visit Mountaineer Country CVB to help develop unique programs to bring tourists to the Mountain State.
“Our success is based on the strength of the relationships that we have and the collaboration that we do throughout, frankly, the state,” said Riddle. “We’re working on (building) national (partnerships) now, but we’re only as good as our partners.”
The 3rd Annual Visit Mountaineer Country Tourism Summit will also have West Virginia Department of Tourism Cabinet Secretary Chelsea Ruby, Director of Destination Development Ennis Smith, and Membership Director for the West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association Jordan Nuzum as speakers throughout the day. This will be separate from close to a half dozen individual tourism experts who plan to implement, or have already made moves to create, projects like Mountaineer Gravel to bring into the area. With the event free for the public to attend, Riddle hopes they stop by the Evansdale neighborhood and see what is set to take place in the Morgantown area in the near future.
“We have to go out and compete where we have a competitive advantage,” said Riddle. “And our competitive advantage, particularly in North Central West Virginia, is that we’ve got Big Bear Lake in Preston County, those types of things already exist, and we need to promote them appropriately.”