Richland Rd staging area - Partial Private Property/closed

"THE "GATE" KEEPER"

 

Well it was a great trip.....raining like crazy as soon as we turned on richland rd.got to the first ledge(gate keeper)there was a creek running off it.....my daughter was like(we have to go up that?!!!!)yea honey we are going to try.......didnt even spin once just crawled up it....took my time and navigated the rock garden with out a single issue.tight is a under statement,ran into a couple from Asheville wheeling a 5th gen runner about this time.....super nice folks,i think he worked for Toyota in some shape or form.neither of us had any issues,but some of the spots I had to navigate left me with one tire in front on the ground and one on the rear.never knew this,it was Jeff that said it happened.he was following me....this is a place I will visit again,this time was a recon basicly.Janelle(my gf)will shit a brick when she sees the drop offs on the sides of the trails......it was a good time......

 

This was just posted to a local Facebook page

Richland Road Access Update:

In an effort to make a proactive approach to the Richland Road access issues I decided to speak up on this group. As mentioned, I am a local Sheriff's Deputy which covers some of the area for the Richland Road "Trail".

After hearing about some access questions, and various rumors of Richlands on the internet I decided to reach out to some land owners in the area to see what the deal is. On 7-5-2017 I spoke with one of the land owners who has been vocal about some issues in the Richland/Penley community rising out of the access of 4WD/ATV vehicles. This is what basically resulted from this conversation.

1 - The land owners in the Richland/Penley area are not proactively trying to limit access to the Richland trail. There were temporary signs placed in the area stating the road was for land users only, but this has been removed at least from the Penley road side.

2 - The biggest issues for the land owners in this area are the destruction of their private gravel road due to carless and reckless drivers, littering, and speeding which creates a dangerous environment.

3 - The land owner(s) that I spoke with want to work with the responsible OHV/ATV vehicle users to create an environment where everyone wins. In speaking with them we have unofficially came up with a plan to hopefully curb the problem.

4 - The solution should include BEING RESPECTFUL. The Richland trail enters and exits residential areas. When you are driving through these areas you should drive slow to avoid rutting the road and creating large amounts of dust. Avoid spinning your tires and taking turns fast. Give the right of way to the land owners who live there, that is just the nice thing to do. DO NOT LITTER. DO NOT LITTER. If you see someone litter it may be worth politely speaking to them about it, and share the access issues. If someone litters and doesn't pick up their own trash, just pick it up for them. Go slow in the residential areas. DO NOT LEAVE RICHLAND ROAD and venture onto posted private property. Stay on the main trail, do not check out private property, this is a big issue. Entering posted private property is against the law and may result in prosecution.

5 - If you see other OHV/ATV users in the area, be an advocate and speak to them about the land access issues. Encourage them to be respectful and relay to them the requests which have been made.

6 - The Watauga County Sheriff's Office will be performing extra patrols in the Sampson Road and Penley Road area and enforcing violations which are observed. So far this past weekend our encounters with people have been positive and has resulted in education and encouragement about respecting the land owners. As a side note, ATV's and "side by sides" are not allowed on Sampson Road as it is a state road.

7 - I think that this facebook group, or other clubs, should rally together and have quarterly clean up days in the Richland area. In speaking with the land owners I learned that High Country 4x4 out of Boone sponsored a clean up day this year, and that action was well received by the residents. I think any effort that we as a community take towards improving the Richland area should be well coordinated.

8 - I feel we should be discouraging large groups traveling the Richland Trail. As mentioned before, this is a small trail which travels through a community. The location does not support large convoy like groups.

9 - This public service announcement is not an official post from the Watauga County Sheriff's Office and should not be used to represent any opinion or stance from that office.

10 - Access to Richland's is fragile, as is access to most OHV areas in this country. We should treat it with respect as if any wrong action may ruin access forever.

 

This is the kind of crap that is going to get this place shut down.. The "hill climbs" and "side trails" are not ok areas.

 

The Sheriffs need to patrol on the weekends and write tickets... it would get better fast and they'd make some money to boot. This is the reason I don't ride the road on the weekends. Too many idiots trying to mess it up for people who actually respect the sport.

 

Unfortunately sheriff's AFAIK will not travel in to the areas people are tearing up.

 

Agree on all points.

 

I am all in for a trail clean up day. Let me know when.

 

Trying to go this sunday for a ride/cleanup day

 

A cleanup day sounds good, but in reality all that will help the locals not hate us is to stop going.. @JimboAnz is going to URE Saturday, a ride there and cleanup if you want would be more helpful to the community.

 

Anyone doing Richland in the next month? Never been and it's only about an hour from my house. I'd like to check it out before the baby is born next month and before the locals get it shut down.

 

I'd like to make it there before it gets closed, as well. Missed the last run out there.

 

I’m in for RR. I’ve only done it once and I need to make a trip to Blowing Rock this month anyway

 

Hit me up any weekend and I'll go with you I've run it a few times

 

Got a group of guys going up this Saturday. We’re going to meet up around 8:00 in Lenoir. Anyone is welcome to come

 

I might go, how large of a group do you have going currently?

 

Right now about about 7 as long as everyone falls through. Have about 4 or 5 others that are maybes

 

@saundern here you go bud

 

I wonder how many fewer vehicles would have known about this trail had 27,000 views of this thread with a map to show the whole world where our trails are in western NC. Especially the ones that are in threat of being shut down. This has been up for 6 years. You have to wonder how much damage this thread has caused. It's one thing to talk about the place. It's a whole different ballgame to post it up on the internet. Someone even posted the entrance to HC on google maps for the whole world to see.

I'm saying this from experience. 10 years ago there was a trail system in Cullowhee, NC. A rover club posted the map of the place online and everyone found out about it. 5 years later it was tank trapped and done. We thought about contacting the USFS and seeing what we could do to help maintain the trail system but chose not to for fear of putting a bulls eye on the trail system. In the end I was wrong for not involving them. We were wrong for posting up the names of the places we went to that were under pressure and sharing links to maps. Instead of going there one last time before it closes maybe we can come together as a group and work with the USFS and maintain our trails. It worked for us on a trail. That being said with the amount of traffic going through these areas I don't see how it will stay open. But it's worth a try.