Some Georgia Parks Limiting Visitor Volume For Social Distancing

GEORGIA — Thinking of visiting a Georgia state park for the Memorial Day weekend? Officially, they’re all open — but the busiest ones might have to turn you away if they’re too crowded.

To accommodate social distancing because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources is limiting access to the state’s busiest parks when they become too crowded. As of Saturday afternoon, those parks are:

• Tallulah Gorge State Park, Tallulah Falls
• Providence Canyon State Park, Lumpkin
• Cloudland Canyon State Park, Rising Fawn
• Sweetwater Creek State Park, Lithia Springs
• Black Rock Mountain State Park, Mountain City
• Wormsloe State Historic Site, Savannah
• Vogel State Park, Blairsville

Other parks that are not yet restricted but have experienced high volumes of visitors earlier this month include:

• Don Carter State Park, Gainesville
• Red Top Mountain State Park, Acworth
• Fort Yargo State Park, Winder
• James H. Floyd State Park, Summerville

All parks are open but some facilities — visitor centers, museums and the like — will be closed to the public. Also, playgrounds, splash pads and exercise stations that make social distancing impossible will be closed. All swimming pools are closed for the summer.

The parks department is urging Georgians to stay close to home and visit lesser travelled parks where possible.

Governor Brian Kemp’s executive order identifies outdoor activity as an essential activity, so long as visitors maintain proper social distance and follow established CDC Guidelines. That includes gatherings of no more than 10 people.

For the latest information on state parks, visit the Georgia Department of Natural Resource's website, or visit the Facebook page of a particular park.

On Lake Lanier, Buford Dam Park, run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will be closed over the Memorial Day weekend. All other Lake Lanier parks will be open. For the latest information, visit the corps’ Facebook page.

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