Access to Mount Yonah, GA

Does anyone know if, or when, access to Mount Yonah will be re-established? I know that TPL transferred land to the US Forest Service for a road & parking lot back in October of 1997

The access to Mt Yonah is open(always has been)although you have not been able to drive up to the top parking lot for about 5 or 6 years. There is a road and a parking lot due anytime but its been slow, so don't hold your breath. I like it the way it is now, the one hour uphill hike deters all the bottle throwing rednecks and there are no crowds clogging up the few good routes that Yonah

Public access is by foot only, via the Yonah Mt. Road provided there is no military activity. If the Army is up there, they have precedence. The road remains gated by the landowners, you can walk it.

Last I heard, the Access Fund has purchased land for a new access road and parking lot, but it proved to have more obstacles to road construction than anticipated and the project appears to be in limbo. Write the Access Fund at www.accessfund.org for the latest info, what I've related is fairly old news.

I have general info about Mt.Yonah including the phone number to check with the Army before your visit posted at http://blackdogexpeditions.com/HotSpots/yonah.htm

Good climbing,

Wayne Busch Gainesville, Florida

I heartily second that. The 50-minute walk up is a pleasant warm-up to a day's climbing on uncrowded cliffs. Easier access will turn Yonah into something that certainly won't be worth the cost. Last I heard, the Access Fund parking lot will leave a little hike up. I hope so.

Dan Tressler