Forsyth County offices, parks and recycling centers close for Memorial Day

Forsyth County residents planning a holiday cleanup, park visit or routine county errand will need to finish it before Monday, May 25, when county offices, park offices, recreation centers, senior centers and recycling convenience centers close for Memorial Day.

That shutdown reaches beyond the main government buildings. It means anyone hoping to handle business with Forsyth County Government, use Forsyth County Parks & Recreation services, visit a senior center or make a recycling drop-off will need to wait until the next business day, Tuesday, May 26.

The county’s Recycling and Solid Waste Department operates three public convenience centers, and those sites are normally open Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. They are closed on Sundays and county holidays, which makes Memorial Day a full closure for residents who rely on them for recycling and disposal of bagged household trash.

Forsyth County framed the holiday as a day of remembrance, saying, “We honor and remember the brave men and women who laid down their lives for our country.” For families mapping out the long weekend, that means the county’s public-facing services will not be available for walk-in business until offices reopen Tuesday.

The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners also marked the occasion during its regular meeting on May 21, when it proclaimed May 25, 2026, as Memorial Day. American Legion Post 307 Director Kevin Opela received the proclamation, and the county said the U.S. flag and Georgia flag at county government facilities will fly at half-staff until noon Monday under Gov. Brian Kemp’s executive order.

Memorial Day’s meaning reaches well beyond a three-day weekend. The National Archives traces it back to the post-Civil War observance known as Decoration Day, when communities honored the war dead. John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic selected May 30, 1868, for a nationwide observance, and Congress later moved Memorial Day to the last Monday in May under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, with the federal-holiday version taking effect in 1971.

In a county that says it is consistently ranked among the fastest-growing in the United States, even a one-day shutdown can affect household schedules, park plans and disposal trips across Forsyth. For anyone heading to county offices, recreation centers or recycling centers, the calendar now matters as much as the errand itself.