Providence Canyon State Park to expand

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Providence Canyon State Park

Credit: Capitol Beat News Service

ATLANTA — Southwest Georgia’s popular Providence Canyon State Park is about to become larger.

The state Board of Natural Resources voted Tuesday to purchase two parcels of land next to the park totaling just more than 1,700 acres for $3.3 million.

The larger of the two tracts — 1,488 acres — is being bought from private owners for $2.9 million. Most of the funding — $2.4 million — is coming through the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act, which voters approved in a 2018 referendum. The remaining $500,000 was donated by the Knobloch Family Foundation, Steve Friedman, the state Department of Natural Resources’ real estate chief, told board members.

The smaller parcel at 215 acres is priced at $409,000. The Nature Conservancy and Knobloch Foundation are contributing $150,000 each toward the purchase, while the Georgia Natural Resources Foundation will supply the remaining $109,000.

The two purchases will allow the park to expand its hiking trails and camping sites, Friedman said.

Providence Canyon State Park, renowned as the “Little Grand Canyon,” is located in Stewart County west of U.S. 27.

Board members also approved six other land transactions at Tuesday’s monthly meeting, including the purchase of 2,409 acres for an addition to the Sansaville Wildlife Management Area in Wayne County, 386 acres for an addition to Dugdown Mountain Corridor in Haralson and Polk counties, and 375 acres for an addition to Morgan Lake Wildlife Management Area in Wayne and Long counties.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Capitol Beat News Service.