The day finally arrived. The groundbreaking ceremony for the nearly 3,000-acre Chattahoochee Bend State Park, the newest entry in Georgia’s state park system, was held Sept. 29. The pristine site in western Coweta borders the Chattahoochee River.

The groundbreaking marked the start of the Phase I development, said Friends of the Chattahoochee Bend State Park President Dean Jackson. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) plans to begin work on the park by Dec. 1. The park is expected to open in the summer of 2011, Jackson said.

Keynote speaker and DNR Commissioner Clark was joined by other officials such as Georgia Rep. Lynn Smith, Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, Rep. Billy Horne, DNR Board Member Warren Budd and Coweta County Commissioner Tim Lassetter. Also in attendance were representatives from Newnan and Coweta County, local chamber and county Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, along with local hikers, biker-riders, canoers, campers and other outdoors enthusiasts.

Tuesday’s outdoor ceremony was held just inside the park’s newly-constructed southern entrance on Flatrock Road, at the largest of the exposed granite areas that gives the road its name, said Jackson. The 150 people in attendance were able to take a short tour of the future park site with Friends volunteers serving as guides.

Instead of turning dirt with gold-painted shovels, dignitaries and park supporters used keepsake hammers to drive stakes in place along cut-pine curbs, finishing a short stretch of hiking trail that connects two of the centerpiece “flatrock” outcroppings at the new state park, Jackson said.  

Phase I development of the park will include a state-of-the-art visitor’s center, an RV campground, a tent campground, platform camping near the river, pioneer camping, and a river access campground, day use area, playground, boat ramp, and associated facilities, said Jackson. Once completed, Chattahoochee Bend will be Georgia’s sixth largest passive recreational state park, comprising 2,910 acres of natural land, seven miles of river frontage and featuring passive recreational amenities such as camping, hiking and boating, Jackson said.  

The park is being developed in partnership with Coweta County. Other amenities, such as hiking paths, will be developed by volunteers over the park’s expected 18-month construction. The Friends of the Chattahoochee Bend State Park, which was chartered in 2008 under the private Friends of Georgia State Parks organization, was developed by Coweta County citizens to serve as a volunteer umbrella group to support the park before and after its planned 2011 opening. Funding for the park comes from $7 million in long-term revenue bonds approved by the state in 2006. 

Clark said that state parks are a key part of a $7.6 billion a year eco-tourism industry in Georgia, a term that he said covers hiking, boating, camping, fishing, hunting and other forms of passive outdoor recreation. Parks are also a key strategy in the state’s efforts to preserve its natural and historical heritage and offer recreational opportunities for Georgia families, according to Jackson.

Jackson referenced Clark’s comments that the long-term bonds allow the state to finance the park’s construction without impacting state agencies during the economic downturn. Clark also noted that the willingness of Coweta County and local residents to work with and partner with the DNR in the park’s development was key in making Chattahoochee Bend possible, Jackson said.  

Along with Clark, other speakers at the groundbreaking included DNR Board member Warren Budd, Central Baptist Church Pastor Joel Richardson,  Rep. Lynn Smith, Rep. Billy Horne, Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, and Friends Chapter President Dean Jackson.

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