Allegheny National Forest to Extend ATV/OHM Trail Riding Season

Aly Delp

Aly Delp

Published September 23, 2020 4:20 am
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WARREN, Pa. – The Allegheny National Forest will extend the ATV/OHM trail riding season until Monday, October 12, for four of the five permitted trails.

The ATV/OHM trail riding season normally closes the last Sunday of September. The Willow Creek ATV Trail is currently closed due to windfall and storm damage and will not reopen until the 2021 season. The Penoke, Marienville, Timberline, and Rocky Gap Trails will close for Fall maintenance at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, October 12 (Columbus Day).

Legal riding opportunities for the ATV/OHM community are being extended to account for the loss of the Tour de Forest and to bridge the gap into the Columbus Day weekend. District Ranger Rob Fallon stated, “ATV/OHM enthusiasts lost a couple of weeks earlier this summer when the trails opened later than normal due to COVID-19 concerns. Hopefully this will make up for some lost time for our frequent trail riders and give others a renewed opportunity to enjoy the Allegheny National Forest on our ATV/OHM trails.”

Recreational ATV/OHM use on the Allegheny National Forest is restricted to the designated 107-mile trails system within established operating seasons, and permits are required to ride that trail system.

2020 Annual ATV/OHM permits will be honored until the end of the ATV/OHM trail riding season. For riders without annual permits or who do not wish to buy annual permits, daily permits will be available through vendors through October 12. On-line purchase of 2020 ATV permits through the Allegheny National Forest website will end on Friday, September 25.

The ATV permit vendors are listed below:

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The U.S. Forest Service is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a mission of sustaining the health, diversity and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The Forest Service’s Eastern Region includes 20 states in the Midwest and East, stretching from Maine, to Maryland, to Missouri, to Minnesota. There are 17 national forests and one national tallgrass prairie in the Eastern Region. For more information, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/R9.

The U.S. Forest Service manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world. Public lands the Forest Service manages contribute more than $13 billion to the economy each year through visitor spending alone. Those same lands provide 20 percent of the nation’s clean water supply, a value estimated at $7.2 billion per year. The agency has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 80 percent of the 850 million forested acres within the U.S., of which 100 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live. For more information, visit www.fs.fed.us.

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