In an effort to increase statewide interest in the sport of paintball, officials at an outdoor-adventure resort neighboring the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve are opening their fields to the public on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Potential enthusiasts are being welcomed to play at the new paintball complex at ACE Adventure Resort without the need for reservations, according to Brandon Shaw, project supervisor for the complex which flanks the New River Gorge.
Shaw said that support for the complex among paintball aficionados has grown, but there’s room for play on weekend evenings, and inviting newcomers and state residents to join in a game or to form an impromptu team is worth the effort.
“Our goal at ACE has always been to ‘provide adventures that energize, challenge and inspire’,” Shaw said, citing a passage from the resort’s mission statement. {{more}}
“Opening the course to guests who aren’t necessarily lodging with us or rafting with us accomplishes all that and more.”
“It helps us provide our neighbors another venue for outdoor recreation, for physical exercise, and a means of enjoying the advantages of living in the New River Gorge region.”
Completed less than a month ago, the two-field complex incorporates more than 2,000 railroad ties recycled for use in the construction of its bunkers and other field structures.
Shaw said resort officials are already considering an expansion into adjacent areas of the 1,500-acre resort, which is located within and adjacent to the New River Gorge National River.
The addition of paintball fields is one of several landmark developments at the resort, which last year hosted a record-breaking zip-line competition on its mile-long canopy course along the rim of the New River Gorge.
The paintball complex will be open to the walk-in public from 6 p.m. until dark Fridays and Saturdays. Rates are $25 per adult and include the use of a paintball gun, a protective facemask, and a hopper full of paintballs. Camouflage jump suits are available for rent for $3 per person.
“Walk-in players may also bring their own equipment and pay a field-use fee of $10,” Shaw said.
Established in 1981 as American-Canadian Expeditions, ACE hosts more than 50,000 rafters annually on the New and Gauley rivers and offers more than a dozen additional outdoor-recreation venues, including zip-lining, rock climbing, and ATV touring.
The resort was designated the largest adventure resort in North America by The Travel Channel in 2010, based on the number of guests it accommodates, the number of adventures it provides, and the size of its facility.
For more information or to reserve the facility, call 1-800-787-3982 or visit aceraft.com.
Further information is also available at www.aceraft.com/west-virginia-adventureactivities/paintball.