Pennsylvania ATV trails expand in Elk, Potter counties
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro Sept. 9 announced the addition of six all-terrain vehicle connector routes in Elk and Potter counties, expanding connections to two regional trail systems and boosting the state’s outdoor recreation economy. The routes were approved through a new state Department of Transportation process that allows municipalities and other organizations to request an…
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro Sept. 9 announced the addition of six all-terrain vehicle connector routes in Elk and Potter counties, expanding connections to two regional trail systems and boosting the state’s outdoor recreation economy.
The routes were approved through a new state Department of Transportation process that allows municipalities and other organizations to request an ATV route designation. The process is designed to help connect existing trail networks, but PennDOT and local municipalities decide whether to allow the vehicles on public roads.
Confluence Borough has not yet taken up the issue. Fair Hope, Allegheny and Brothersvalley townships are among the municipalities that prohibit the buggies on public roads.
In 2026, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources spent $1.4 million to expand ATV access and improve trail infrastructure across the state, according to the governor’s office. Pennsylvania has more than 278,000 registered ATVs.
Connector ATV routes, the Shapiro administration said in a prepared statement, “help meet the rising need for well managed riding areas that also support rural communities and boost local economies.”
The Shapiro administration estimated that the ATV trail riding industry grew by $1.5 billion in 2024 to $20.4 billion while adding 9,000 jobs.
ATVs are permitted on designated connector roads during daylight hours only and during the DCNR’s designated riding season, which begins the Friday before Memorial Day and ends the last Sunday in September.
Last year in Tioga County, the Shapiro administration announced the first designated ATV route. Proposed routes can’t include interstate or multi-lane highways and must connect ATV trails or other state, local or forest roads that are open to the buggies. Route 49 in the Borough of Westfield, Tioga County, was the first ATV route approved under the new PennDOT process.
The ATV trail enhancements in Elk and Potter counties come as Somerset County Commissioner Brian Fochtman leads an effort to develop a north-to-south ATV trail locally. At an August 13 public meeting in Somerset, attended by about 75 people, Fochtman cited the economic benefits of the trail, which would include use of some public roads.
The Somerset County Fairgrounds in Summit Township, near Meyersdale Borough, where the buggies are allowed on municipal roads, could serve as a trailhead for a countywide trail network, Somerset County Fair Board President Dave Berkey said during the meeting last month.
Windber Borough also allows ATVs on public roads.
But several residents spoke out against the idea at the meeting, saying expanded access will only aggravate enforcement problems in rural municipalities that can’t afford a local police department. Some property owners said ATVs were already a nuisance with noise, litter and damage to walking trails, which an expanded trail network would only worsen.
Somerset County’s final ATV plan proposal is expected to be completed by October.