Everyone who rides bikes needs to buy Chris Scott a beer. Scott, a fixture on the Southern mountain bike scene for 20 years, owns Shenandoah Mountain Touring and puts on the annual Shenandoah Mountain 100, arguably the best fat tire race in the South. He’s partially responsible for the pristine shape of the GW’s trails, as he puts in countless hours of volunteer labor and management on the forest’s singletrack. Now he’s leveraging his house to buy Stokesville Campground and keep it open for bikers. The privately owned campground that sits next to the GW near Mt. Solon, Va. was put on the market recently. Fearing development, Scott acted and is now under contract to purchase the campground. But he’s scrambling to raise the last $300,000 to make it happen.
There’s a cool opportunity in this for mountain bikers to have a little slice of heaven. Anyone who ponies up $5,000 gets partial ownership of the campground, allowing them access any time of the year. Once Scott takes over management of the property, he’s planning on resurfacing the roads, building on property trails and a bike park. If the plan goes well, the Stokesville Campground could become ground zero for mountain biking in Virginia, and a whole new model for mountain bike conservation.
“It’s the most exciting project I’ve ever been a part of,” Scott says.
Go to mountaintouring.com to find out more. And don’t forget to buy Scott a beer.
