John Tanner Park - a fun but busy county park

John Tanner Park is a "former" Georgia State Park located in Carroll County near Carrollton. Today the park is operated by Carroll County. This is a relatively small park with a unique history, there are several pros and cons to visiting here.
 

John Tanner Park has two lakes, one with a rather large beach and paddle boats. The story of John Tanner and his little "piece of Florida" in Carrollton Georgia is very interesting. During the 1950's, John Tanner decided to build a Florida resort in Georgia. He had 8 train-car loads of Florida sand hauled in for the beach, planted palm trees along the shoreline, and draped Spanish moss from the trees. During the 50's and 60's, the park was a popular destination. The park was even frequented by Carrollton native Rita Hayworth (a famous actress in her day to you youngsters).

Eventually, the resort became a state park. It's hard to imagine the park as a state park today. It is now very much a local county park with lots (and lots) of locals enjoying the accommodations. The beach is still there, but the palm trees and  Spanish moss are long gone. The campground needs some updating, but isn't half bad. The only draw-back to camping here (on the weekends anyway) is the large crowd of beach patrons.

Click here for more pictures and an Adventure Journal entry and review.

McIntosh Reserve - The Last Home of a Powerful Scottish/Creek Chieftain

We'd been concerned about a particularly vacant geographic area on the PB&J Adventures map, anxiously looking forward to an excursion to investigate the treasures of Carroll and Coweta, counties of west-central Georgia. A trip to this part of of God's country was inevitable.

In addition to McIntosh Reserve, our trip included a stop at the Gold Museum in Villa Rica, the site of Georgia's first gold rush, followed by camping at Chattahoochee Bend State Park, and a very long and enjoyable (albeit crowded) Saturday afternoon on the beach at John Tanner park (formerly known as John Tanner State Park).

On the first full day (Saturday) of our Chattahoochee Bend State Park camping trip, we headed for McIntosh park, mid-day. Our first stop was at the guard shack. The lady (guard) was so sweet. She told us all about the park, where to go, what to do. She insisted that the kids come in to use the facilities and have a drink of water. Very nice. We liked her a lot!

We wandered around the park a bit, visited the river and the over-look, and checked-out the gravesite of William McIntosh. Visiting this park was of special interest to me. My mother's brother's wife is the great great great great granddaughter of William McIntosh. The family's history has a special personal meaning.

While visiting William McIntosh's gravesite, we also surveyed the old log cabin, similar to Chief McIntosh's home, located just across the country road. The doorways were designed for very short people, but there was a surprising amount of space in the cabin. Its design is almost identical to the cabin located at Red Top Mountain State Park near Cartersville, Georgia.  

We spent part of the afternoon at the park. I was especially interested in camping here (Boondocking), but it must be in cooler weather. This was one hot weekend. We left McIntosh Reserve for John Tanner Park (formerly a state park) where the kids played in the water for hours. But that's another story.

For more information and lots more pictures of McIntosh Reserve Park, click here!