Forsyth County expands outdoor recreation for all abilities

Forsyth County is turning parks into a more deliberate public service, not just a place to play. A new Specialty Recreation division, launched in January 2025, now brings outdoor recreation and therapeutic recreation under one umbrella, with Whitman Morgan leading programs that teach kayaking, guide campers on climbing towers and introduce residents to activities many have never tried before.

A bigger county system, built to absorb more use

The scale of Forsyth County Parks & Recreation explains why this matters. The department says it maintains 2,900 acres across 30 parks, including 16 passive parks and 14 active parks, plus more than 55 miles of trails, 91 sports fields, 28 pickleball courts, 22 playgrounds, three campgrounds, four dog parks, three recreation centers and 52 pavilions. It is also a CAPRA-accredited system, and county officials say that process required compliance with 154 recognized standards and documentation of policies and procedures.

That combination of acreage, facilities and accreditation makes parks feel more like infrastructure than a bonus amenity. It also shows why the county emphasizes professional staffing, safety and consistency, especially as more residents look to local parks for exercise, family outings and low-cost recreation close to home.

What Specialty Recreation is actually doing

Morgan’s path through the department shows how Forsyth County is building in-house expertise. He started as a program coordinator at Fowler Park Recreation Center in 2016, moved to Sawnee Mountain Preserve as outdoor recreation supervisor in 2021 and stepped into his current specialty recreation manager role in 2025. Along the way, he built a reputation in paddling, and in 2025 he placed third in the instructor category in an American Canoe Association initiative meant to help instructors bring more beginners into Level 1 and 2 courses.

That focus on skill-building is part of the county’s broader approach. Morgan and his team review participant surveys after each program or camp and use the feedback to refine offerings, while staff try to measure progress in individualized ways instead of judging success by a single standard. The county says the goal is to help participants recognize what they learned and carry that confidence into other parts of life, which is especially important in a fast-growing county where public programs have to feel relevant to different ages and abilities.

Programs that open the door for more residents

For residents with disabilities, Forsyth County’s therapeutic recreation program is the most direct access point. County officials say the program was expanded to serve people with intellectual and physical disabilities as well as at-risk youth, with adaptive sports, fitness programs, special events and other instructional recreation programs based at Central Park Recreation Center and offered countywide. The county has also said therapeutic recreation is meant to develop leisure and recreation skills, enhance socialization, independence and overall quality of life.

There is also a practical built-in safety step for families using therapeutic recreation: a Participant Information Form must be completed and filed with the therapeutic recreation office before taking part in any program or event. That kind of front-end screening helps staff plan around participant needs and is one reason the county’s inclusive programming is treated as a structured service, not an informal add-on.

Older adults have a separate set of access points. Forsyth County’s campground reservation program honors the Annual Senior Pass and Lifetime Senior Pass, and it also recognizes the Access Pass and Golden Access Pass under the America the Beautiful Interagency Pass Program. For seniors who want to stay overnight or spend more time in county parks, that matters because it lowers the cost barrier to using the county’s campground network.

Working families can find help in the county’s scholarship system. The Scholarships page says awards are available to Forsyth County residents only and are based on demonstrated need, available funding and submission deadlines. Paired with the Programs & Events menu, which includes Camps, Outdoor Recreation, Therapeutic Recreation, Refunds/Transfers and Scholarships, the county is clearly trying to make programming easier to navigate for households balancing schedules and budgets.

How to sign up now

The most direct way in is the county’s Parks & Recreation online system. The homepage points residents to Register NOW and Reserve NOW, and the redesigned website is meant to make it easier to find what you need online. The Programs & Events page organizes offerings into categories such as Outdoor Recreation and Therapeutic Recreation, while the reservation portal lets users browse campground availability and reserve a campsite.

For paddling and other outdoor activities, the county’s facilities network gives the programs real places to land. Forsyth County lists canoe and kayak launches at Eagle’s Beak Park on Old Federal Road in Ballground and at Chattahoochee Pointe on Chattahoochee Pointe Drive in Suwanee, along with trails, campgrounds and recreation centers that support beginner-level outdoor instruction. In practice, that means the county is not just offering classes, it is pairing them with physical access points across the park system.

Can the county keep up with demand?

Forsyth County’s growth is the pressure point behind all of this. The Census Bureau’s July 1, 2025 population estimate for the county was 282,805, up from 280,096 in 2024 and 251,283 in the 2020 Census. That is a 12.5% increase from the April 1, 2020 estimates base to July 1, 2025, and it helps explain why the county is investing in specialized staff, accreditation standards and more organized program delivery.

The county is also signaling that it wants to stay responsive, not static. Officials say they are reviewing participant surveys after programs and camps, and the Board of Commissioners proclaimed July 2025 as Parks & Recreation Month to recognize the department’s commitment to safe, clean and inclusive opportunities. In a county this size, that is the real test of value for tax dollars: whether the system keeps adding ways for residents to get outside without making access harder to find.