Breaks Interstate Park OHV
Breaks Interstate Park straddles the Virginia-Kentucky border in Dickenson County VA and Pike County KY, jointly managed by the two states as one of only two interstate parks in the United States. The park's defining geographic feature is the Breaks of the Sandy: a five-mile gorge cut by the Russell Fork of the Big Sandy River through Pine Mountain, with 1,600-foot walls that make it the deepest gorge east of the Mississippi River, earning it the nickname the Grand Canyon of the South. The OHV trail system at Breaks connects to the Spearhead Trails network that spans southwestern Virginia's coal-country Appalachian communities, giving it unique dual identity as both a standalone park OHV destination and a gateway hub into the broader 500-mile Spearhead system that links the trail towns of Dickenson, Buchanan, Russell, Tazewell, and Wise counties. The trail terrain is high-elevation Appalachian ridge: the Pine Mountain escarpment that forms the Virginia-Kentucky border, second-growth hardwood forest of oak, hickory, and maple recovering from the coal mining and timbering that shaped the region through the 20th century, and the dramatic topography of the Russell Fork gorge edges that give Breaks OHV riding a vertical relief found in few eastern trail systems. The park itself is a full-service resort complex: lodging, dining, a swimming pool, and campgrounds serve as the base for OHV visitors arriving from throughout the region. The Spearhead Trails connection makes Breaks a natural hub for multi-day Appalachian riding itineraries. Park office at Breaks (276-865-4413) manages current OHV permit requirements and trail conditions.