ELKINS, W.Va.– The City of Elkins has been awarded a $30,000 Trail Accelerator grant from the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) to plan trails that would enter the Monongahela National Forest. Elkins City Clerk and one of the founding members of the Elkins Area Shared Trail group, Jessica Sutton, said they have immediate plans to get trail work underway.
“IMBA is an organization that has worked through a lot of chapters and clubs through the years, but as I said, they’re starting to get more into trail development, and they have this Trail Accelerator Grant,” Sutton said.
The $30,000 grant from IMBA comes after a November award of $50,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). Both grants will be used to bring new trail experiences to a wider skill set of enthusiasts.
“We don’t have a lot of good beginner and intermediate trails, so we need to develop those to create better access to the sport and just to the forest in general,” Sutton said while confirming they would be multi-use trails.
Also in November, the Elkins area was added to the Ascend WV list of communities that also includes Morgantown, the Greenbrier Valley, and the Eastern Panhandle. The Ascend WV program provides $12,000, co-working facilities, professional development, and access to outdoor recreation options in the state in order to recruit remote workers to the state.
“The understanding of what we were trying to do with our trails and develop better, closer access certainly helped them make that decision to identify the Elkins area as a location for the Ascend WV program,” Sutton said.
Sutton said talks with officials from the Monongahela National Forest will continue this winter for the IMBA grant. But she said some design work is already underway using the $50,000 ARC grant.
“I’m hopeful you’ll start to see some planning documents come out in late spring or early summer next year,” Sutton said. “Hopefully, we’ll start moving some dirt next year.”
The Ascend WV designation and grant awards are providing community leaders with an opportunity to define their own image moving forward. Sutton said she wants to see Elkins become another popular destination, not just a place to stop for a short visit.
“We’ve been for a long time a community that you drive through, get gas, maybe get some food, and possibly spend the night, but, in most cases, go on to Canaan, Snowshoe, or other areas,” Sutton said. “But, we want people to spend more time in Elkins.”