At noon on June 5, Trickum Road closed in front of Little River Park for five to ten minutes. Precision Blasting was running a test blast at the base of the hill near the new roundabout, and the city said the work was needed to build the park's entrance road. WSB-TV reported that more noon blasting was planned for June 9 through June 12.
Those few minutes of stopped traffic point to where the park's remaining work is. Woodstock's largest park is opening later than first announced, and the work still underway is concentrated at the Trickum Road end, the part most people see from the car. The far side of the park, around Woodlands, is already getting irrigation, final grading and park furniture.
How the Target Has Moved
The timeline has changed since the shovels went in, and the dates come from different sources:
- August 2025. At the groundbreaking on Tuesday, August 5, the city's announcement published by Cherokee County predicted a ribbon-cutting in the fall of 2026.
- Contract award. When Woodstock City Council voted unanimously on June 9 to award a contract of about $8 million to Integrated Construction & Mobility, Inc., known on the job as ICAN, the Cherokee Tribune-Ledger reported that the city expected construction to be completed by the end of 2026. That is a completion date for the project, not an opening date.
- June 2026. During the blasting week, the city told WSB-TV it hoped to open the park by spring of next year.
- Now. The city's Little River Park project page lists an estimated completion of spring 2027.
The city has not attributed the change to a single cause. Its monthly construction notes do show what crews have run into since spring.
What Crews Hit in May
The city's May 2026 update lists two problems with rock. While grading the Trickum Road playground down to subgrade, ICAN hit granite in a small part of the second loop, and the playground installer had to rework the equipment footing layouts to avoid it. At the same time, crews trying to bore a force main under Little River hit rock, and ICAN had to bring in a different drilling rig.
Weather added to it. The same update says 3.2 inches of rain on May 6 and 7 cut into scheduled site work, and the June notes say weather limited site activity again that month.
By June, ICAN had finished the boring under the river at Trickum Road. Rock was still on the list, though. The July/August update says crews started rock removal in the Trickum parking and cul-de-sac areas, and the September update says that work was still going on.
The Side You Can't See Is Further Along
The September 2026 update makes the split clear. The two ends of the park are at different stages of construction.
| Zone | September 2026 work, per the city |
|---|---|
| Trickum Road | Grading, utility work, rock removal in parking and cul-de-sac areas, a concrete trail link from the boardwalk to the upper parking lot, a concrete transition trail from the boardwalk to the pond, fishing platform installation started |
| Woodlands | Utility work, irrigation installation, final grading begun at the open-space field circles, site furnishings being installed |
At Woodlands, crews are installing irrigation and furnishings, which comes at the end of a build. At Trickum Road, crews are still grading, running utilities and clearing rock. Earlier work at Woodlands points the same way. In June, ICAN finished trail remediation at the open-space field ovals, poured the multi-use trail along their west loop, drove piles for a boardwalk bridge there, and had the concrete block walls of the Woodlands restroom building 95 percent complete. Leveling of the Woodlands dog park area began in July or August.
Why the Entrance Was Always Going Last
The order of work was planned before anyone found granite. The city's March 2025 bid notice split construction into two phases. The Woodlands and linear corridor work came first, and the Trickum Road facilities came second, after the nearby roundabout project was finished. That roundabout, at Trickum Road and Nocatee Trail, was listed in the bid notice as under construction with an estimated completion in 2026.
There was also a change in how the work was contracted. City Manager Jeff Moon told the Tribune-Ledger that the project was originally proposed in phases, but the city changed course and bid the entire park as one job. The current project page says the same, explaining that multiple phases were advanced together so construction could be bid efficiently. The groundbreaking announcement said the park and the entrance roundabout would be built at the same time.
Put together, the Trickum Road end was always scheduled last, and the city's notes place the playground granite and the parking-area rock removal there. The bid notice lists the features that depend on it: the kayak launch, fishing platform, playground, nature trail, pavilions, restrooms and a multi-use trailway.
What the Finished Park Adds Along the River
Once it opens, the 110-acre park will double the city's greenspace and become Woodstock's largest park. It is funded by the 2023 Trails & Parks Bond, which voters approved, and the city issued 2024 Parks GO Bonds to pay for it.
The city's master plan, updated in February 2025, divides the park into three zones and spreads the features across them:
- Linear Corridor Zone: a concrete and boardwalk multi-use trail about 1.75 miles long along the Little River, with pedestrian bridges linking the zones
- Trickum Road Park Zone: a pond with fishing and paddle-craft platforms, a creative playground, a group pavilion with an outdoor classroom, and several family pavilions near the main entrance
- Woodlands Park Zone: multi-use open fields, large and small dog parks, and a trailhead with restrooms and parking
- On the water: a water trail on Little River that will connect toward Olde Rope Mill Park
The main entrance will be on Trickum Road at the new roundabout. A pedestrian bridge connects to Woodlands.
The water trail stands out on that list. Olde Rope Mill Park already lists fishing, canoeing, kayaking and paddle boarding among its activities. When the new park opens, there will be a paddling connection between the two parks along the same river.
Until Spring, the River Trails That Are Already Open
People who want time on the Little River before the new park opens have places to go now, and they are close to the construction.
Olde Rope Mill Park has the Trestle Rock Trail, a flat multi-use path of about 0.4 miles along the Little River. It also has the Taylor Randahl Memorial Mountain Bike Trails, three trails totaling 14 miles. The city says its mountain bike trails are built and maintained with the Woodstock chapter of the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association, SORBA Woodstock.
Closer to downtown, the city's Greenprints trail page describes the Noonday Creek Trail, which runs from downtown Woodstock to Highway 92. You can get on it at Market Street or at Woofstock Dog Park, where a bridge crosses the creek to the dog park. Until the Woodlands dog parks open, Woofstock is the dog park on the trail system.
For tune-ups before a weekend on the Olde Rope Mill trails, Out Spokin Speed Shop is downtown at 7117 Main St. #104 and handles bike sales, repairs and suspension service.
One more trail project is on a spring 2027 schedule. The city's May 2026 status update on the parks bond page says the Rubes Creek Trail was still in FEMA "No Rise" review, with permitting and bidding to follow, and that the city hopes to start construction in spring 2027. That is a start date for construction, not an opening.
The city posts monthly progress notes on the Little River Park page. The October notes should show whether rock removal at the Trickum parking lot has finished. Until then, the fishing platform and the concrete paths to the pond are the clearest signs that the entrance side is catching up.
If you are planning a move around the timeline of a new park or trail, Connie Morelle can help you weigh what is built, what is scheduled and what is still an estimate. Let's Connect.
