Mountain Parkway Offroad - ATV & Motocross Park

Mountain Parkway Offroad

by Jenny Ison

Publication Date: November 2000

The last weekend in October, the Extremz team traveled to Eastern Kentucky to the small town of Clay City. Clay City is located just off the Mountain Parkway, approximately fifteen miles from Natural Bridge and the Red River Gorge. Some of you might be familiar with Clay City - noted for its drag strip racing.

Even though drag racing to some is an extreme sport, the team was there to cover one of the fastest growing sports around - ATV racing (All Terrain Vehicles, or 4-Wheelers as known to some). Clay City is soon to become noted for not only its drag strip, but also for Mountain Parkway Offroad which opened in May of this year.

This beautiful 1200+ acre offroad facility is the result of many hours of planning and hard work by its owners Teresa and Shane Kennon. Friends and neighbors of the Kennons are so pleased with the trails and the way Shane runs the facility, that they help keep the trails maintained and clean.

"We're so pleased to have a place like this," says Charlene Butler who lives nearby and rides the trails two to three times a week with her friends Vanessa Shoemaker and Joanne Dotson. Charlene also participates in the events and placed third in the Rodeo "Powder Puff" event (racing around hay-bales strategically placed in an open field). In fact, Charlene was also one of forty riders that competed in a Poker Run through nineteen miles of wooded, tough terrain. During this event, riders raced to find five checkpoints that entitled them to draw five cards - the rider with the best poker hand won.

Another favorite event of participants consisted of jumping two different dirt ramps, with distances measured to determine the winner. "Racing isn't the only thing we have to offer," says Shane. "Some riders will spend the weekend here practicing nothing but jumping the ramps, while others take advantage of the fifty miles of intersecting trails." Camping and a fishing lake are also available, with cabins under construction.

All events usually consist of both male and female riders of all ages. On this day, the youngest rider was eight and the oldest sixty-two. In fact, second place winner in the Powder Puff Rodeo event, Joanne Dotson, was eager to promote female riders fifty and over. Joanne has been riding ATVs for five years, and this was her first competition.

What are future plans for Mountain Parkway Offroad? Two upcoming events are planned: A "Hare Scramble" will be held Sunday, November 12, and a "Toys for Tots" event is planned for December 3. Participants in this event will donate a $15 toy for Toys for Tots in place of a registration fee. The Winter Hare Scramble season will open in January 2001. And, as far as the plans for the facility itself? A thirty mile Grand National Cross Country loop trail is in the planning to be completed by March 2001.

Mountain Parkway Offroad is open Friday through Sunday, with weekday riding by appointment. Races run as scheduled - rain or shine, sleet or snow.

For more information, contact Mountain Parkway Offroad at (606)663-1028, or visit their website at www.mountainparkwayoffroadinc.prodigybuz.com