April Fools Ride at Black Mountain

Published 7:48 am Tuesday, March 18, 2025

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The Black Mountain Offroad Adventure Area is getting in gear for the warmer weather to come, kicking the party off with the April Fools Ride slated for March 29-31.

The park’s website at https://www.blackmountainoffroad.com states the April Fools Ride is the beginning of a busy schedule for 2025, with more than ten events already scheduled throughout the year.

“Get ready for an adrenaline-fueled weekend of off-roading fun!” states the Harlan Tourism’s Visit Harlan County Facebook page.

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Black Mountain Offroad Adventure Area Manager Trevor Pryor provided some details on the event and the park.

“A pretty good crowd usually comes out to the first event of the spring,” Pryor said. “Everybody’s ready to get back out. They’ve been cooped up all winter and they’re ready to get out and ride.”

Pryor mentioned the staff of the park use the winter months to work on the trails preparing for the larger crowds which visit the park in warmer weather.

“Everybody comes out looking for new trails we’ve put in or trails that have been repaired,” Pryor said.

He pointed out the folks visiting the area include everyone from expert riders with high dollar equipment to those just beginning their offroad enthusiast journey.

“There will be everything from dirt bikes all the way up to very expensive rock bouncers,” Pryor said.

The park features trails ranging in difficulty from easy trails for beginners to extremely difficult trails for the very experienced off-roader.

“We mark the trails with color coded signs,” Pryor said. “We mark them green to red with red being the hardest and green being the easiest. Blue is for the intermediate trails.”

Among events on the schedule in addition to the April Fools Ride are the Great American Crawl set for April 12 – 14, the Southern Shine Crawl on May 24 – 26, the Big Rig Rodeo set for June 7 – 9, The Ken Crider Crawl on Aug. 9 – 11, the Fourth of July Ride on July, 4 – 7, and more.

The Black Mountain Offroad Adventure Area opened to the public in October of 2005, and has grown into a top destination for offroad enthusiasts throughout the country. The park features more than 150 miles of marked and rated trails for ATV riders to explore over approximately 7,000 acres of beautiful mountainous terrain reaching elevations up to 3,300 feet.

“All riders do have to have a permit,” Pryor said. “You can buy a monthly permit or a yearly permit.”

Pryor added the April Fools Ride is a yearly event, with most attendees hitting the trails from noon to 6 p.m. on the Friday and Saturday of the event.

For more information or to make a reservation, call 606-837-3205 or go to the Black Mountain Offroad Adventure Area Facebook page.