Mountain Mud returns to Bradshaw with races, music and mud runs

Mud, music and motorsports drew riders and spectators back to Bradshaw as Mountain Mud marked its third consecutive year in the small McDowell County town. The event ran Saturday, May 16, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. at 116 Stanton Drive, with a schedule built to keep families, racers and vendors moving through the day.

The lineup was broad for a one-night event. Organizers listed ATV, SXS and dirt-bike grudge matches, drag races, a mud obstacle course, vendors and music. A parade was set for 4 p.m., and children ages 3 to 12 had a separate riding window from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission was $5, with a $15 race fee. Spectators could pay the entry price to watch the mud events and musical entertainment and shop food and industry-related vendors.

For Bradshaw, the event carried more than spectacle. The town sits almost in the center of McDowell County and has a Census Reporter population of 327, while the county itself has been shrinking, from 19,111 people in the 2020 Census to an estimated 16,878 on July 1, 2025. In a county founded in 1858 and shaped by coal mining, an event that pulls riders, families and vendors into one place offers a modest but immediate boost for local traffic, fuel stops, food sales and nearby services.

Mountain Mud also has become part of the county’s outdoor identity. The event said its first outing in May 2023 was the first of its kind in McDowell County, and it pointed to a 2025 postponement to July after flooding hit the county. Its area information places Bradshaw near the Hatfield and McCoy Warrior Trail in War, West Virginia, the Coal Canyon Spearhead Trail in Jewell Valley, Virginia, and Wilmore Dam about a 20-minute drive away, reinforcing why the town fits an off-road gathering built around terrain, trail access and motorsports.