Coweta Fayette Real Estate & Newnan Homes for sale blog by Richard Weisser of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers

The Friends of Chattahoochee Bend State Park has announced that the construction of all approved trail paths is complete.

One can now hike from the Visitors Center and connect to the Riverwalk Trail and continue from there to the Bend Trail. There is also a short loop available (.9 miles) for those just wanting to stretch their legs. Here’s the latest Chattahoochee Bend State Park Trail Map.

Since there are some moderate changes in elevation it is wise to always carry water and perhaps an energy snack. The hot Georgia Summer can talk a toll on the ill-prepared hiker.

There is a plethora of diverse plant and animal life to be observed in the park. And one of the best ways to get “up close and personal” with Nature is to spend a morning or afternoon on the trails.

Chattahoochee Bend State Park is just one of the amenities that makesCowetaCountyGeorgia special.

Why not plan to come see for yourself!

A glint of azure tinged with green
That beckons from the dark ravine,
The forest reveals its hidden jewel
A softly trembling shimmering pool!
                  (R Weisser 2012)

We all know the old saying that you “can’t see the forest for the trees,” and we rarely apply it literally.

But as an avid hiker and naturalist, I have learned to keep an open eye along the trail for any nuance of nature that could easily be bypassed without so much as a second look!

So as I was walking the East-West Trail in Chattahoochee Bend State Park, I noticed a nice reflection on a small pool in a rivulet. You can only wonder how the light penetrates through the full canopy of leaves and is able to reveal an otherwise easily missed spot along the way.

It is indeed easy to miss the forest for the trees.

So we need to keep an open eye AND an open mind all of time time so we don’t miss a thing!

Chattahoochee Bend State Park will allow hunters to harvest deer and feral hogs and kill coyotes for two days this December.

Thirty bucks will allow you to harvest two bucks (or does) after a mandatory pre-hunt meeting with park officials.

After debating the issue on the “Friends” Facebook Group, I was a bit surprised to see that many support the hunt. One commenter even complained about seeing three herds of deer on a twilight ride. Another said that deer were a dangerous threat to park visitors.

That prompted this reply from me:

“I guess I'm just a silly old man, but when I go to a park I WANT to see deer and coyotes and other forms of wildlife. If I saw three herds I would be thrilled!

The park speed limit is 20 MPH, so I don't think that the threat of injury is all that great. If the herd needs to be thinned, I think that it should be done by professionals and not by anyone willing to pay 30 dollars. (sic)…

You’ll notice I don't use words like "slaughter" or "murder" although I do see the wanton shooting of coyotes as cruel and unnecessary. I understand a harvested deer or hog is food on the table rather than road kill. But as I have reiterated, I would prefer to see the herd controlled by professionals.”

To me a park is a park. It is NOT a wildlife management area, a state forest, or a game land. Hunting by amateurs should not be part of population control because of potential damage to fragile ecosystems.

I have nothing against hunting at all. I am absolutely opposed to hunting within the boundaries of a state park.

Period!