The first WV Outdoor Economy Summit sold out once. They added fifty spots and it sold out again. People were at the door wanting in. Danny Twilley, one of the architects of WVU’s Brad and Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative, watched all of that happen and said what he has been saying for years: we’re just beginning. The outdoor economy in West Virginia isn’t a niche — it’s a diverse, measurable industry that belongs at the table of any serious conversation about the state’s economic future. The summit was proof that people are starting to treat it that way.
What comes next, Twilley says, is alignment. OEDC is finishing trail infrastructure already underway — the White Sulphur Springs Bike Park, the Millpoint Bike Park, three phases of the New River Gorge master plan — while turning attention toward the West Virginia Outdoor Business Alliance, a coalition they plan to spend 2026 building so that businesses in this space have a collective voice. Add a growing trails training program with 18 classes scheduled this year, a wilderness first aid curriculum, and a nonprofit capacity hub designed to help grassroots organizations maintain the infrastructure being built around them. The outdoor economy already has the product. The work now is building the organization to match it.
Learn more about: WVU OEDC / WV Outdoor Economy Summit
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