places to ride On a road trip in to the SE

I am going on a trip from NY, south as far as my gas money will bring me and back in Mid March. is there any good places to ride in the DC, B-more area, lower VA, South Carolina. I would like to hit some rivers. but more than anything some places where it safe for someone who doesn't know the local water that well to be with a brand new inboard. thanks for any help! Like I said I'm from NY, and we ride in April up here, so don't tell me its too cold unless there is ice in the water that will hurt my boat.lol

gotta make a stop at Smith Mountain Lake in Bedford/Moneta Virginia. Mountains all around you, blue water, great wake community.

In south carolina you could hit lake Hartwell or lake Keowee, they are very close to each other, I have heard that Keowee is not down to much either. Hartwell is down like 15 or 20 feet I think, but its a huge lake and you should not have a problem.

Jim, Smith Mountain Lake is pretty far west but defiantly worth checking it out if you can swing it. Also in Virginia check out Lake Anna. There really isn't a lot of riding around the Baltimore area. As far as DC well you can go out on the Potomac and ride past the monuments, but you and your boat will have a serious stank that won't come off for weeks. Further upstream on the Potomac, like western maryland is pretty nice...or so I've heard

Check out http://endofropegang.com/ for Southern Va and NC spots
and www.dcwake.com for Maryland/NOVA

(Message edited by ridininmd on February 18, 2008)

If you want to ride a river you could try the james river in Midlothian Va, its near richmond...i used to live there...very good public ramp called Robious Landing.. the river there is good for riding and there shouldnt be much traffic in march. and make sure you check the weather before you ride the river, because if it has had a heavy rain recently the river will be high, muddy, and full of debris..now im in North Carolina and ride Lake Norman...lake it a little low right now but has come up 3-4 feet and is looking pretty good...people complain about the shoals, but if you know how to read channel markers and shoal signs you should be fine

(Message edited by seminolepride991 on February 18, 2008)

chickahominy river near richmond virginia. i can pretty much assure you during that time of year you'll have the whole river to yourself. youre crazy.
it was voted top 10 places to ride in wbm a couple of years ago.

Tennessee - Norris, Dale Hollow, Center Hill, are all beatiful deep lakes. Plus tons of other great lakes and rivers in east TN.

Hyco lake here in NC. Its heated for your warm water riding pleasures.

I'm from NY too, go to school at Virginia Tech though. I recomend Hitting smith mountain lake, and then coming to Claytor lake. Just take 78 to 81 and its really easy to find. Finding the secret spot on Claytor, you gotta pm me for that.

Hey thanks .. you guys are definitely making life easier.. here I was going down the east coast on google maps looking for blue spots!