ALLEGHANY CO. - The lake at Douthat State Park is frozen over and snow has blanketed the area for most of the winter.
Once the Highlands thaw out it will return to the playground it's recently become for outdoor sports enthusiasts.
“We're referred to as the Disney Land for mountain biking, so they're coming here for that specifically, a lot of out of town guests and locals as well,” said Jaimie Lomasney, Douthat State Park Visitor Services Specialist.
Douthat is such an attraction for outdoor sports fans construction on two new cabins and one new lodge is underway to hold even more guests.
“I like to use the term I heard recently, activity draws activity,” said Tom Kirlin, owner of Riders Up.
Kirlin and his family are helping lead the way towards making the area a one stop shop for outdoor entertainment.
“We highlight the accessibility. It’s all right here,” Kirlin said. “It's all close you have the ability to do any of these adventure sports in a very small footprint.”
Within 20 minutes you could be kayaking, camping, rock climbing or mountain biking and that's what makes the area so marketable.
Kirlin and Douthat State Park have a buddy system that's working well.
Kirlin offers classes in kayaking and other sports to Douthat guests and the park doesn't have to buy the equipment or pay staff to teach the classes.
“I think we're just trying to branch out and give those extreme sports opportunities, something we've never done before, so we're branching out,” Lomasney said.
The classes Kirlin offers to guests have grown in the way of size and frequency.
Meanwhile, Douthat State Park is expanding to add an equestrian program.
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