SALE CREEK — With over 1,000 acres at McDonald Farm set to become a new state park, officials are seeking input from the community to inform the vision for the property.
The public engagement period is slated to last for about nine months as officials work on the development of the 30-year master plan for the park, according to Ryan Jenkins, Tennessee State Parks deputy director of operations. Last week, officials hosted an open house at McDonald Farm, inviting the public to share its desires for the park.
“We’re very excited about this park,” Jenkins said in an interview. “Because it is a clean slate, and so we get to design and bring a park in from the ground up here. And the community around this area is so excited to see this park, too, so it feeds our excitement as well.”
Tennessee will receive about 1,300 acres in Hamilton and Rhea counties for the new state park. When combined with existing state-owned land, those parcels will bring the park’s total area up to about 2,500 acres, according to a press release from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Hamilton County will retain part of the McDonald Farm property, including the farmstead, for a county park.
(READ MORE: Hamilton County to look at purchasing Apison land for new park, sports fields)