Nonprofit banks land for planned Chattahoochee River park

Cobb County land needed to make a 100-mile linear park along the Chattahoochee River is now in safe hands, the Trust for Public Land says.

What's happening: The environmental nonprofit this week bought a roughly 9-acre parcel at the corner of Mableton Parkway and Discovery Boulevard that will become the first regional trailhead of Chattahoochee RiverLands.

• Early plans also call for a spot to launch kayaks, restrooms, picnic areas, and playgrounds.

Zoom out: Led by TPL with support from more than 60 groups, the linear park would run from Buford Dam at Lake Lanier to Chattahoochee Bend State Park in Coweta County.

• It would include the existing Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

Details: The property is at the southern end of a 3-mile greenway trail linking Mableton to Smyrna, TPL said. The trailhead will also link to the under-construction Mableton Parkway Trail, linking the river and Silver Comet Trail.

• The nonprofit wants to open the trailhead in 2026, and once the property is built out it will donate the land to Cobb County's parks department.

What's next: TPL will hire a design firm and work with the public to "determine what these sites will look like, what features they will include and what experience visitors can expect."