So, my girl and I had been reading about the now (mostly) gone town of Centralia, PA. Story goes that about 50 years ago, it was a thriving coal mining town in east/central PA. Today it is pretty much a ghost town. That is to say that there are streets, sidewalks and driveways...but no houses. This is due to a fire that accidentally got into a coal vein and has been burning since the 50's.

We decided to take a drive up and check it out. I was expecting to see crumbling houses and smoke and flames shooting up from the ground. we did find some smoke emanating from cracks in what was Route 61, the road surrounding was insanely hot and almost melted the soles of my Teva sandals. Some further exploring of the area found 3 perfectly preserved cemeteries, which according to websites, the occupants of the cemeteries outnumber the occupants of the town.

FURTHER exploration found some nice trails, mostly due to the fact that the area was once a mining town. We encountered a lot of people there enjoying the 4x4 possibilities in the area. When all was said and done, I managed to dent up my front bumper (again), smash my passenger side step and sustain a great deal of trail rash. It was all worth it, for the ability to yet again explore the capabilities of my rig, see what was once a real live town (the post office even revoked the zip code for the town) and get the chance to see a beautiful sunset....

 

You know that all of that land is private property right?

 

lol...You were like 5 minutes from me. There arent many houses left there anymore. I remember years ago going through there and seeing lots of houses and people... with smoke coming out of the ground everywhere I never understood how people could stay there, I know they were born and raised there, and so were their whole families..yatta yatta yatta... but seriously.. I wouldve been outa there pretty damn quick Before they closed that section of Rt 61, my dad and I hit a "new" dip in the road. We were just driving along at night and all of a sudden the road dipped down. The truck practically jumped out of it. A few days later they closed that section of 61. It still freaks me out thinking about it. So if your in the area again, we can tip a few cold ones, but I definitely wont be exploring that neck of the woods with you.

And yes, just about every scrap of land around here is owned by the coal companies. But generally they dont care as long as you arent dumping trash or they arent actively working the area. Usually if they really dont want you in an area, they will close and lock an access gate or dump a load of dirt as a road block with a no trespassing sign. The only people I know of getting fined, were the ones that went around locked gates or over new road bocks. And the few times I saw cops in the woods, they just checked to make sure we werent dumping trash. So while its not technically legal to wheel anywhere around here, its generally allowed. I know I read somewhere that the coal companies sold "wheeling passes". I think it was about $100 a year and they gave you a key to the gates. A buddy of mine has a key, but he didnt pay.. He has a friend at the one coal company..

 

Ah, that explains it. I'm from York, PA (originally) and a lot of my buddies go wheeling and take their dirt bikes up 1 exit past Rausch Creek. Not a "park" but not quite "illegal" either. That sheds more light on it.

 

Everyone rides around here too, I cant go into the woods without seeing ATV's or dirtbikes everywhere. When I was high school, we used to go out about every weekend on the quads and my brother still goes riding alot around here. As long as we stayed out of the gated areas, we never got in any trouble.

Isnt there a dirt bike/ATV park attached to Rausch too?

 

If it's "technically Illegal" then it is illegal.

I didn't think that this site was in favor of promoting illegal wheeling, it's activities like that that jeopardize the future of the activity for those of us who do abide by the law.

 

Actually, yea I think there is. Can't say for sure though.

 

I agree, but around here, its all coal company land that was strip mined in the early -middle of last century. So its not pristine land, most of it is old coal roads and grown over strip mine areas. Coal companies did not do any type of reclaimation back then like they do now. So things are still fairly f'd up. And like I said before, coal companies generally ignore wheelers on their land as long as they are not dumping trash or underage drinking. When they close off an area, they lock gates and put up signs. I always stay out of those areas; the open ones I go in, I always stay on the trails. And I am pretty sure they do sell passes to locked areas. I think this is mainly for liabilty reasons( thats also the reason its not technically legal in the open areas, it gives them an out if someone gets hurt on their land). I will have to see if I can find that info again.

And yes, this sight does not promote illegal wheeling. So I would understand if the mods decide to delete or lock this thread. And Im not trying to promote illegal wheeling, Im just passing on what I know about this area. I do not agree with wheeling on others land or destroying off limits area, but I think its a different set on circumstances in this area compared to others.

 

Yep, I just looked, they have a 4 mile motocross track and they also have a seperate 250 acre trail riding area. It looks pretty cool.

 

I've heard about that place. Its on my list of ghost towns to visit in PA. Casparis was the first one that got me started. Its another abandoned mine town. i'll have to check this place out sometime soon.