Woodstock's biggest park project now has a spring 2027 target instead of fall 2026, and the city's own construction log is full of rock. Granite turned up under the planned playground. A drill hit rock boring under the river. Crews had to blast on Trickum Road. Weather cost the crews weeks too. Little River Park will still be a 110-acre park that doubles the city's greenspace. When it opens, you'll get there by car through a new entrance off Trickum Road. The trail connector to downtown and the paddling route to Olde Rope Mill Park are still on the drawing list.
That affects how the park fits into a normal week. Here is how the timeline moved, what crews have actually built, and what you can use along the Little River this fall.
The ribbon cutting moved from fall 2026 to spring 2027
The city held the groundbreaking on Tuesday, August 5, 2025. A few days later, the Cherokee Office of Economic Development said a ribbon cutting was planned for when construction wrapped up in fall 2026. The city's Little River Park page now gives an estimated completion of spring 2027.
| Forecast | Source | Date given |
|---|---|---|
| Park ribbon cutting | Cherokee Office of Economic Development, August 8, 2025 | Fall 2026 |
| Trickum Road roundabout completion | Cherokee County SPLOST presentation, August 2025 | March 2026 |
| Park completion | City of Woodstock project page, current | Spring 2027 |
The monthly updates from the contractor, ICAN, show what crews ran into along the way. In May 2026, crews graded the Trickum Road playground down to subgrade and hit granite in part of the second loop, so the playground installer had to rework the equipment footings around it. That same month, the bore for a force line under the river also hit rock, and ICAN brought in a new drilling rig. The boring under Little River at Trickum Road was finished in June.
Then the rock work moved out to the road. WSB-TV reported that a noon blasting test near the Trickum Road roundabout on June 5 would close the road for five to 10 minutes, with more noon blasts planned June 9 through 12 to build the park's entrance road. Rock removal in the Trickum parking and cul-de-sac areas started in July and August and was still going in September.
Weather added to it. The log lists site work slowed or stopped in the weeks of February 16, February 23, March 2, and March 9, then 3.2 inches of rain on May 6 and 7, then limited site work in June because of conditions.
What's physically standing along the river now
Despite the delay, most of the big structural pieces are already in. Here is the September 2026 status, the latest update posted, organized by the park's three zones.
Trickum Road Park Zone
- The first prefabricated pedestrian bridge over Little River went in during March 2026.
- The hiking trail loops were finished in February, and the pond trail boardwalk was finished in April.
- In September, crews poured concrete trail connections from the boardwalk to the upper parking lot and to the pond, and started installing the fishing platform.
Linear Corridor Zone
- Concrete multi-use trail was poured in sections through spring, and an April 13 roll test covered Station 1+00 to Station 16+25.
- Boardwalk bridge crossings over the tributaries along the corridor were being installed in April.
Woodlands Park Zone
- The Woodlands pedestrian bridge was delivered January 15, 2026, and the boardwalk approaches and handrails on both sides were finished in February.
- Concrete block work on the Woodlands restroom building was 95% complete in June, and the dog park area was being leveled in July and August.
- In September, crews began final grading on the open-space field circles and kept installing site furnishings.
What's left is mostly at the Trickum Road end, where crews hit rock: the parking lot, the entrance road, the playground, and the utilities to serve them. The bridges and boardwalks that carry people across and along the river are largely built.
What opens with the park, and what is still a later phase
The finished park follows the city's February 2025 master plan. The Trickum Road zone gets a boardwalk trailway, restrooms, a group pavilion and outdoor classroom, a creative play area, three picnic areas with family pavilions, a nature trail, and a pond with fishing and paddle-craft platforms. The Linear Corridor runs about 1.75 miles of boardwalk trailway between two pedestrian bridges. The Woodlands zone gets separate dog parks for large and small breeds, restrooms, a trailway, and open fields.
The 2023 referendum approved $24 million for nine parks and trails projects, split into two phases. Phase one projects already had their right of way and concept plans. Phase two projects need engineering before construction can start. Two of the links people will most expect from a riverfront park are on the Phase 2 list.
| Piece | Status on the city's bond page |
|---|---|
| Little River Park, all three zones | Under construction, est. spring 2027 |
| Little River Park Connector to downtown Woodstock | Phase 2; possible routes identified, engineering design still to come |
| Water trail from Little River Park to Olde Rope Mill Park by canoe, kayak, or paddle board | Phase 2 |
The city's Greenprints Trail System already includes Noonday Creek, Rubes Creek, Towne Lake Pass, and the Olde Rope Mill and Trestle Rock segments, but the Greenprints page doesn't show a current route into Little River Park. Until the connector is designed and built, people coming from downtown or Towne Lake will mostly drive in.
The Trickum Road entrance is where opening day happens
The main entrance is on Trickum Road, and a roundabout is being built there as part of the park project. A pedestrian bridge links the park to the Woodlands side. Cherokee County's August 2025 corridor presentation described it as a single-lane roundabout at Nocatee Trail and the future park, with pedestrian accommodations and an estimated cost of $2.04 million. The county agreed to contribute $900,000 under a 2024 intergovernmental agreement. The same presentation already flagged rock as a challenge and estimated completion in March 2026.
That March date has passed. The Woodstock Post road-work page, last checked October 16, 2026, still lists the Trickum Road and Nocatee roundabout as under way. It also reported no Cherokee County lane closures on Georgia 511 that day, and no street closure or detour posted by the city or county. That's a one-week snapshot. For live conditions on Trickum Road, the same page points drivers to 511.
The county flagged rock at the roundabout, and crews later blasted near it and removed rock from the park's parking area, so the entrance is where the park and road work overlap.
The stretch of Little River you can use right now
Olde Rope Mill Park is the open part of this river corridor today. Its Trestle Rock Trail follows Little River for about 0.4 miles, and the park offers canoeing, kayaking, and paddle boarding. The city's master plan describes a water trail on Little River that will connect toward Olde Rope Mill Park, which means Olde Rope Mill is the planned other end of the paddle route that Little River Park's pond platforms will eventually feed.
Until then, the two parks will work as separate stops on the same river. One is open now with a short trail and boat access. The other opens in spring 2027 with about 1.75 miles of corridor trail, a fishing pond, and two dog parks, reached by car through a new roundabout on Trickum Road.
Big park projects like this one change which Woodstock streets get busy and which routines get easier. Tracking that kind of local change is part of how we read this market. If you want to talk through what Little River Park and the Trickum Road corridor mean for your plans, Terence Richardson and the team can walk you through it. Schedule your free market consultation.
