Another kayak and canoe access point has been installed on the Yellow River, just south of I-20.
The Newton County Water and Sewerage Authority cleaned up part of its property off Access Road, where it has a pump station, and improved the gravel road beside the building leading to the river and installed posts to prevent people from driving all the way down to the river.
To find the access point, if you’re coming from the city of Covington take Access Road west to where it crosses over the Yellow River, just past the Riverside Estates Mobile Home Park. Immediately after the bridge is the water authority’s pump house, a little red brick building.
There is a little gravel road beside the building where people can pull in, park their cars and take the trail to the river, said Tonya Bechtler with the Newton County-based nonprofit Yellow River Water Trail group.
"(The water authority) has been very supportive of the water trail, and we’re thankful to them," Bechtler said.
The Porterdale Yak Club — a kayak and canoe rental shop — will offer shuttles to the new access point, Bechtler said. The club operates Thursdays through Sundays; for more information visit Facebook or call owner Kimberly Brown at 678-863-1666.
Brown said on her Facebook wall that the parking area is private property and asked people to be courteous since landowners are allowing boaters to use the property.
The Yellow River Water Trail’s goal is to eventually have multiple access points along the Yellow River from Gwinnett County to where the river pours into Jackson Lake.
This weekend, a group from Gwinnett County was set to scout out a portion from Norris Lake southwest of Snellville to Milstead Dam in Conyers to see if there are any trash or log piles blocking access or creating hazards on that section of river, Bechtler said.
The Yellow River Water Trail is promoting the health of the Yellow River along a large portion of its run and hopes to create a totally navigable 47.5-mile stretch from Gwinnett County to Jackson Lake, according to the group’s Facebook page.
