I think you guys made the right call. As you said, location, location, location. We struggled with this as well. For those that tow and even drive, an extra 200-300 miles round trip and the extra 5-6 hours adds up. $65 a day is better than the $50 plus a day ar Rausch or some other parks.The math Is what it is. Its 65 dollars a day is what it comes out to for on site camping/land use fee at The Cove for Fall Crawl, which IMO isn't bad.
Do I wish it was per truck and not per person? Of Course I do!!! but at the end of the day it a phenomenal private property wheeling location that I along with many others enjoy wheeling at. The Cove has their pricing and it is what it is, I'm thankful they took the time to meet with us to come up with this plan. We discussed a good deal of topics on how other (larger events) are run there and it just makes sense. That is the reason for making this information available to everyone prior to the event so everyone can make their own decision on whether or not the would like to attend.
I do understand the the attempts to Negotiate with Rausch Creek or lack there of. We have explored other venue options in the past. What it comes down to location location location. We are a MD/DC/VA based club and we want to house the event in VA. The Cove offers good Camping with Great Wheeling and is local for most.
All the other venues explored we either have to camp in a gravel parking lot, drive out to a camp ground away from the trails, property isn't big enough to house everyone on the trails, or its a greater distance accruing more fuel and travel costs (again for most). Spread sheets have been made and even if the event moved the cost would still be about the same. So the club took a vote and we are where we are. I for one am excited to wheel at the cove and have no issue with the price. I pay it once a year and always have a great time. We are just trying to make the event run smoother and more consistent for everyone attending
I look forward to being part of this event every year!