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Last Updated: 3/19/07
I finally got a chance to get the YZ250 out for real ride. Lake Canasauga is located in the Chattahoochee National Forest a little northwest of Blue Ridge, Georgia. Old Hwy 2 heads west off Hwy 5 north about five miles north of Hwy 515. It's a nice twisty paved road following Fightingtown Creek for about ten miles before turning to gravel. From there it climbs and twists through the mountains about 25 miles to Lake Canasauga. There are numerous turn-offs along the way, several campgrounds, hiking trails, and overlooks. It is an absolute blast on a dual-sport bike. I've done it on my XT550, my KLR650, and now the YZ. The XT and KLR are more comfortable, but I have to say for shear excitement, they don't compare to the YZ, it will certainly get your blood boiling. I hope you enjoy the pictures I took along the way.
This is where the fun begins on a dirt bike. The YZ isn't much for pavement riding. Buzzy and stiff, with a seat like a brick. But all that seems to disappear when the road turns to dirt.
About five miles up the road is Dyer Mountain Cemetery. The oldest grave I saw was from 1912.
They have a real nice little pavilion with pews for services. Looks like the place is kept up nice.
There's a cut-off just past the cemetery. The road quickly turns into a trail and runs for several miles up the side of the mountain and provides some beautiful overlooks.
One of the many places to stop and enjoy the view. But as you can see below, you don't want to overshoot the corners. There's not much run-off room.
Jack's River Campground is on up the road about four or five miles. There are several nice flat grassy camp areas set along the river. Just primitive tent camping though, no RV hookups, as if someone would actually try to drive an RV up here anyway.
My attempt to get in the picture at another scenic overlook. Hey, it's hard to take pictures of yourself.
A few more miles up the road there's another dirt road that connects to Hwy's 52 and 411. I haven't tried that way yet.
Another cut-off just a few miles south of the Lake. Haven't been this way yet either.
Thought I'd try to get in the picture again. This time I had to perch the camera in the middle of the road and run about 20 yards to the bike before the camera snapped the picture.
When I got there the place was closed for the season. You don't think they really meant that do you, especially not for someone riding a dirt bike. Anyway, I didn't ride all the way up here to get turned back by a sign.
This sign greets you immediately after entering the Lake Canasauga park area. I guess it's a good thing I was riding a licensed bike. It's actually a lot more capable than any dirt bike with blinkers has any right to be.
More signs as you enter the lake area from the parking lot. I've included a picture of the fishing regulations just in case you were wondering, although you need pretty good eyes to read them.
Lake Canasauga in all its glory. There's a swimming area with a dock, a little picnic area, and a pavilion. Looks like some private cabins over on the other side of the lake.
Hey, who's that old guy on my motorcycle, just me without the helmet. View from the Lake Canasauga parking lot.
About to head back to civilization. As you can see I've been a little over 43 miles, it's about thirty miles back and I figure I can get around 80-90 miles on a tank full. Doesn't leave a lot to spare, and with all the stopping and backtracking to get pictures, I'm hoping my calculations are right. The bike actually got better gas mileage than I thought it would and I made it back with about a half gallon to spare. Next purchase for the bike is that Clarke 3.9 gallon gas tank.
A look at the road as it snakes it's way through the mountains. What fun it is blasting around these corners, but since there is two-way traffic you have be careful around blind corners. Although there's not much traffic, it's not unusual to meet another vehicle coming the other direction.
The view from the bars, just the way I want to remember it. They just don't have roads like this where I live most of the time in Florida. Every time I go back home I'm counting the days until I can get back up here.
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