Nobody wakes up and books a vacation to North Central West Virginia. Susan Riddle, executive director of Visit Mountaineer Country CVB, knows that — and she’s spent a decade building the reasons to. Over seven counties, her organization has developed more than 1,500 miles of gravel riding routes, partnered with WVU OEDC and gravel influencer David Landis of Village to Village to map and grow the network, and created an annual event that could only exist in West Virginia: the Mountaineer Monster, a Halloween-timed bikepacking race built around the state’s legendary cryptids — the Mothman, the Grafton Monster, whatever you’ve got.
The strategy has been built around owning what the region actually is rather than selling what it isn’t. Chunky, technical trails with serious elevation. A hospitality culture that keeps riders coming back year after year. The Mountaineer Monster has become the kind of event people plan their fall around, and the National Gravel Championships has already done site visits. That’s the result of a decade of consistent investment in a regional identity that leans into the terrain rather than away from it.
Learn more about: Visit Mountaineer Country / WV Gravel Series
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