Forsyth County parks expand outdoor recreation with kayaking, climbing

Forsyth County's parks system is leaning harder into hands-on recreation, turning county land into a place where residents can learn to kayak, climb and explore instead of just walk past open space. The shift matters in a fast-growing county where traffic and development often dominate the conversation, because it shows parks spending being put to active use for families, kids and adults.

A parks system built for more than green space

The county’s Specialty Recreation division launched in January 2025, and it now covers both outdoor recreation and therapeutic recreation. That is a meaningful signal about what Forsyth County wants its parks to be: not just maintained property, but a public service that delivers experience, instruction and access to activities many people would never try on their own.

Forsyth County Parks & Recreation oversees and maintains nearly 3,000 acres of parkland across 30 parks. Those parks include active and passive recreation areas, campgrounds, lake parks and nature preserves, which gives the county a wide base for programming that goes well beyond ballfields and playgrounds. When the system offers guided recreation on top of that land base, residents get more value from the public investment already in place.

The person behind the programs

At the center of the county’s outdoor recreation push is Whitman Morgan, the face of a division that depends on staff expertise as much as on land and equipment. Morgan joined Forsyth County in 2016 as a program coordinator at Fowler Park Recreation Center in Cumming, then moved to Sawnee Mountain Preserve in 2021 as outdoor recreation supervisor. He stepped into his current role in 2025, as the county’s specialty programming structure took shape.

That career path reflects how the county has built its recreation offerings from the inside out. The work is not simply about opening a trail or maintaining a preserve, but about teaching people how to use these places safely and confidently. In practice, that means the county is selling access to supervised experiences, not just passively offering scenery.

What residents can sign up for now

The outdoor recreation program includes whitewater kayaking, recreational canoe and kayak, rock climbing, tree climbing, mountain biking and caving. It also offers environmental education programs focused on nature awareness and environmental science, which broadens the mission from pure adventure to learning and stewardship. That combination makes the program useful for people who want physical activity, and for families who want children to spend more time outdoors with guidance.

Registration runs through the county’s activity catalog, which is how residents can find programs, events and facilities across Forsyth County Parks & Recreation. The county’s own program listings show that the division is designed for broad participation rather than a narrow set of experienced outdoor users. The language around the program suggests the county wants outdoor activity to feel accessible, structured and local.

Camps for children, not just adult adventurers

One of the clearest examples is Young Adventurer Camps, designed for children ages 9-11. The camps include paddling, climbing, hiking and games, but they are also built around practical lessons in teamwork, problem-solving, risk assessment and wilderness safety. That makes the program more than a daytime outing; it is a scaffold for confidence and outdoor literacy.

For families, that matters because the county is offering a supervised way to get children active in settings that are more varied than a gym or playground. For public health, it matters because organized outdoor recreation can support movement, resilience and social connection, especially for kids who may not otherwise have regular exposure to outdoor skills. The county is effectively using its parks system to build habits, not just fill time.

Sawnee Mountain Preserve adds a climbing destination

The most visible new feature in the system is the climbing tower at Sawnee Mountain Preserve. County news described it as opening in April, and it is set up for camps, group programs, birthday parties and individual climbing passes. That gives the preserve a year-round attraction that can serve both planned programs and one-off visits.

The tower includes top-rope climbing, lead climbing and rappelling, with routes ranging from 32 to 38 feet in height. Those details matter because they show the county is not offering a symbolic climbing wall, but a real piece of recreation infrastructure with multiple uses and multiple levels of challenge. In a county trying to make better use of its parks spending, that kind of facility turns one destination into several kinds of visits.

Why the county is making this bet

Forsyth County’s outdoor recreation push is also a statement about identity. By pairing kayaking instruction, climbing experiences and environmental education with its larger park system, the county is treating parks as part of its public-health strategy and community value, not as a decorative add-on. That is especially relevant in a place where growth puts constant pressure on land, traffic and time.

County recognition materials have also pointed to the role of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners and community support in sustaining parks and recreation work, underscoring that these programs sit within a larger public investment. The county’s message is straightforward: if residents are paying to preserve parkland, they should be able to use it in more ways. Forsyth is answering that expectation with more instruction, more facilities and more chances to get outside.