First new state park in nearly two decades opens July 1

The first new state park in Georgia in 18 years will open to the public on July 1.

Chattahoochee Bend State Park in northwest Coweta County off Flat Rock Road will be a destination for paddlers, campers and anglers, with 2,910 acres, four miles of wooded trails, seven miles of river frontage and a half-mile hike to an observation platform that has forest and river views.

There is an RV and trailer camping section and riverfront platform sites and walk-in sites for tent campers. The Scouts and other organized groups get a private area with screened Adirondack shelters and a fire pit. It's the first new state park since Tallulah Gorge State Park in 1993.