Our Focus this Week: Jones Bridge Park

Alan Jackson sang, “Yeah way down yonder on the Chattahoochee, never knew how much that muddy water meant to me...” but the day I visited the mighty river, at Jones Bridge Park, her waters were cool and clear. Geese swam in the shallows awaiting their daily rations from park goers. A lone great blue herron blended stone-still into the rock it was standing on, the picture of patience, as it waited for an unsuspecting meal to swim by. 

Just up from the riverbanks, the sounds of happy children in the playground brought a smile to my face and warmth to my heart on this chilly but beautiful day in Georgia. The peacefulness of the late afternoon with its long shadows and golden shafts of sunshine guaranteed a sense of tranquility .

A Coon Den Ridge (near Jacks Knob) spring in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains gives birth to the Chattahoochee river and the Appalachian Trail crosses the river’s uppermost headwaters. Jones Bridge Park marks the start of a 12 mile long canoe run to Chattahoochee River Park in Fulton County. It’s also the end for another canoe run that begins at Medlock Bridge Park.

Fire up one of the many grills for a cook-out and launch your boat, canoe or kayak or string your fishing pole for some water fun, hike six miles of trails, play volley ball or soccer on provided venues in this Sports Illustrated 50th Anniversary Sportstown Park. 

Were you one of Alan Jackson’s friends who, “learned to swim and learned who I was, a lot ‘bout livin’ and a little ‘bout love” on the Chattahoochee?