Quote:
|
Last I knew there was a guy with a bunch of land in Wantage that was looking into opening an off road park, but I haven't heard any info on it in months. There was a thread on Jeepforum about it, but I think it has died off. There is also a bunch of work going on a park in the Hazleton, PA area.
|
Considering that I live in Wantage, I should find see what's going on with this one...
I think the park you're referring to near Hazleton is in Northumberland County (Shamokin area). A handful of dedicated locals has been working on developing 6,000 acres of county land into a park that can be used not just by 4x4s, but also dirt bikes, quads, mountain bikers, hikers and other outdoor lovers. I had the opportunity to check it out this past April; the organizers invited our club out for the day to tour the property. I think we barely covered 2/3 of it. There are only main access trails at this point, but the land has the potential to be the next Paragon. There was one crazy rocky hill climb that a few members broke parts on. There's a lot of work to do, though. The property is abandoned coal mining land, and the locals have been using it as their county dump forever. We passed acres of discarded tires, appliances, garbage...even a car or two. At one point, we heard gun shots...and they were getting closer...and then stopped. We ended up driving right through an area where some locals were doing some skeet shooting. Thankfully, they stopped as we approached, but it was unsettling to look down and see pieces of orange clay pigeons all over the place. The area is also dirt poor and in the middle of nowhere, but the organizers are hoping that the park users will bring in business. AFAIK, the project was just recently approved, so development has begun. Looking forward to seeing how it goes!