'Fisher's ATV World' making two stops in Kentucky

Brian Fisher, host of the TV show Fisher's ATV World on the Outdoor Channel, is filming segments in two places in Kentucky as part of his Keepin' it Real Tour, according to the Kentucky Tourism Arts and Heritage Cabinet.

The ATV show made a stop in Trimble County on July 30 and will visit Bell County in October, cabinet spokesman Gil Lawson said.

The events come at a time when the Kentucky Recreational Trails Authority is working to create an extensive system of all-terrain vehicle trails similar to trails in West Virginia, according to Preston McLain, a member of the authority.

Fisher visited Dirty Turtle Off-Road in Bedford on July 30. Dirty Turtle Off-Road, 45 minutes from Louisville, has trails on more than 270 acres.

On Oct. 22, Fisher is scheduled to go to the Wilderness Trail Off-Road Park in Bell County, coinciding with the annual Holler Crawler Haunted Forest Ride. That event is hosted by the county's local ATV club, the Holler Crawlers.

The Wilderness Trail Off-Road Park is seven miles east of Pineville, off Highway 119. It has more than 9,000 acres.

Melissa Fisher, an executive producer of the show and Brian Fisher's wife, said in an interview Friday that her husband had previously ridden ATVs in Harlan and Bell counties.

"Brian loved that area," Melissa Fisher said. "He said every time you came around the corner, there was something new to see."

Melissa Fisher said filming in the state is a way to endorse a plan of developing a system of ATV trails in Kentucky.

It is "showing people new places to ride," Melissa Fisher said.

There are 16 to 18 ATV-riding areas in Kentucky, McLain said.

The Kentucky Recreational Trails Authority promotes adventure tourism on trails for horseback riding, mountain biking and ATVs, McLain said.

The group also hopes to suggest legislation for the 2012 Kentucky General Assembly that would lead to uniform regulations, environmental rules and safety guidelines specifically for ATV trails, he said.

"Any time you can propose any safety regulation that would help, ... it would do nothing but good. We read too many times about ATV accidents," McLain said.

There were 85 deaths from ATV accidents in Kentucky from 2007 to 2009, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

In Kentucky, all ATV riders younger than 16 are required to wear helmets and must have parental supervision. Riders 16 or older must wear helmets when on public property, except when using the ATV for agricultural or business purposes.

This story was originally published August 2, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "'Fisher's ATV World' making two stops in Kentucky."