WELCH, W.Va. -- The Hatfield-McCoy Trails are becoming a popular destination for ATV riders and has become a money machine for the counties it passes through, injecting more than $7.7 million into their economies in 2006, a study by Marshall University shows.

More than 25,000 people from across the United States and seven countries rode the trail last year, according to the study by Marshall's Center for Business and Economic Research, which was reported on in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.

Hatfield-McCoy Executive Director Jeffrey Lusk said the 500-mile trail system has helped to diversify the economies of Boone, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mingo, Wayne and Wyoming counties. New businesses catering to ATV riders and others, such as restaurants and lodging, have sprung up across the region, which traditionally has depended on coal, gas and timber extraction.

Lusk said he expects economic growth to continue this year. A new 50- to 70-mile segment in McDowell County is scheduled to open in mid-March.

"McDowell County is going to be really great," he said. "I think we are going to change the face of the communities over there. Their main streets should get revitalized once we get over there. We have seen where main streets literally have life breathed back into them when you start bringing hundreds of ATV riders back into town.''

For more details on the Hatfield-McCoy Trails, visit http://www.trailsheaven.com or 800-592-2217.