Granite State lays out ATV route
Author: Chicago Sun-Times

BERLIN, N.H. -- Almost from the moment the state approved buying land for a state park for all-terrain vehicles, the phones began ringing in city hall.

Some callers wanted to know if the trails were open, others want to know if they could buy land nearby, said town planner Pam Laflamme.

State parks Director Allison McLean found herself peppered with questions at a regional meeting of state park directors -- many of whom are struggling with growing demand for ATV trails in their own states.

As city and state officials are learning, you don't even have to build it before they come.

The purchase, which should be final by the end of January, would create a 7,500-acre state park with the potential for 350 miles of trails for ATVs. The first trails, on existing logging roads, could open as early as this spring, officials say.

The park will be the first of its kind in New England. The closest similar park is in West Virginia, though one is planned for a former strip mine in Cambria County in western Pennsylvania.

New Hampshire riders have long complained they have few places to ride, and conflicts between riders and private landowners have risen as ATV popularity has soared.