November 27, 2006
ALONG THE NECHES RIVER – River Run Park – 10 miles north of Jacksonville - has been named the nation’s best all-terrain vehicle park.
Jacobs ATV Adventuresmagazine rates the 2,000-acre park number one in the U.S. It’s the second top ranking the park has received. Brian Jackson of My Outlandermagazine also has River Run Park atop his list of best places to ride an ATV in Texas.
Hundreds of ATV riders converged on the park this weekend for its first Thanksgiving Mud Bog and Races, which featured huge, four-by-four truck events as well as ATV contests through the mud.
Owner and founder Mac McCullom purchased the acreage a couple of years ago with plans to sell and redevelop its timber. A former Exxon oilfield, McCullom’s acreage has two mountains on its north end and swamps and sumps on its south end. At the urging of a former employee, McCullom instead switched plans and opened an ATV park.
Although it keeps him and his three person staff hopping, it’s proven to be a wise decision.
“They (ATV drivers) love it here,” McCullom said on a glorious Friday afternoon this week as he filled up two large, Olympic-swimming-pool-sized areas with water, turning them into a muddy bog to test the power of huge trucks for Saturday’s competitions.
Meanwhile, ATV drivers and riders buzzed around the property, plowing through swamps, racing up hills and generally having a great time. Leisure-oriented campers leaned back in their chairs and took it all in.
River Run Park offers 60 RV hookups with electricity and water, horse trails, hiking trails, bicycle trails, trail bike trails and trails for four-wheel quads, four wheel ATVs, utility four-Xs and four-by-four trucks. Big Rock Mountain and Piney Mountian overlook 12 miles of Neches River waterfront, where McCullom has installed several beaches with rope swings.
Bikini Beach is probably the most popular.
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