Georgia Veterans State Park (originally the Georgia Veterans Memorial State Park) is a state park located on

Lake Blackshear Lake Blackshear is a man-made lake on the Flint River in Georgia created by a dam that was constructed from 1925 to 1930. The lake was named after General David Blackshear. The Crisp County Power Dam, also known as the Warwick Dam, was the firs ...

in Crisp County, west of

Cordele, Georgia Cordele is a city in and the county seat of Crisp County, Georgia, United States. The population was 11,147 at the 2010 census. Cordele calls itself the Watermelon Capital of the World. History Cordele was incorporated on January 1, 1888, and ...

. It was established on December 4, 1946 as a memorial to U.S.

Veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

. The park features a museum with aircraft, vehicles, weapons, uniforms and other memorabilia dating from the Revolutionary War to the present. Other attractions include

, a privately operated conference center and golf club and the SAM Shortline Excursion Train, which runs from Cordele to

Plains In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands. In ...

. In 2013, Georgia Veterans State Park was privatized and its management handed over to Coral Hospitality, a Florida-based hotel and resort management company.

Facilities

* 82 campsites with cable TV hookups for tents, trailers or RVs * Pioneer campground * 18-hole golf course * Lake Blackshear Resort ** Conference Center ** Beach ** Marina ** Cypress Grill & The Comedy Zone ** 78 rooms ** 10 cottages * nature trail * Four picnic shelters * Group shelter that seats 150 * R/C model airplane flying field

Activities

* Boating * Waterskiing * Pontoon Boat Rentals * Archery and Air Soft Rifle Range * Hiking * Bike Rentals *

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

Birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

* Disc Golf * Veteran's Museum * Sam Shortline Train The fish in Lake Blackshear include bass, crappie,

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive ...

and

bream Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including '' Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), '' Acanthopagrus'', ''Argyrops'', '' Blicca'', '' Brama'', '' Chilotilapia'', ''Etelis'', '' L ...

Photos

File:RC Model Airplane Field, Georgia Veterans State Park.JPG, RC Model Airplane Field Image:GA-Veterans-SP-1.jpg, Tanks on display at Ga. Veterans S.P. Image:16_18_001_veterans.jpg, M4A3E8 Sherman Medium Tank Image:16_18_006_veterans.jpg, LVTP-5 armored fighting vehicle Image:16_18_012_veterans.jpg,

155 mm Long Tom The 155 mm gun M1 was a 155 millimeter caliber field gun developed and used by the United States military. Nicknamed "Long Tom" (an appellation with a long and storied history in U.S. field and naval artillery), it was produced in M1 and M2 ...

Image:16_18_018_veterans.jpg,

57 mm Gun M1 The Ordnance Quick-Firing 6-pounder 7 cwt,British forces traditionally denoted smaller ordnance by the weight of its standard projectile, in this case approximately . The approximate weight of the gun barrel and breech, "7 cwt" (cwt = hundredwe ...

Image:16 18 057 D44.jpg,

85 mm divisional gun D-44 The 85-mm divisional gun D-44 (russian: 85-мм дивизионная пушка Д-44) was a Soviet divisional 85-mm calibre field artillery gun used in the last action of World War II. It was designed as the replacement for the 76 mm division ...

Image:16 18 050 M1918A3.jpg, 155 mm Howitzer M1918A3 Schneider Image:16 18 073 B29.jpg, Boeing B-29A, (B-29A-15-BN, AAF Ser. No. 42-93967) built in Marietta, GA

References

External links

Georgia Veterans State Park information

Lake Blackshear Resort & Golf Club

Sam Shortline

Georgia Veterans Memorial State Park Camp Safety Patrol
historical marker Protected areas of Crisp County, Georgia State parks of Georgia (U.S. state) Military monuments and memorials in the United States Military and war museums in Georgia (U.S. state) Museums in Crisp County, Georgia Protected areas established in 1931 1931 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) {{CrispCountyGA-geo-stub