Current through Rules and Regulations filed through March 20, 2024
(1)
General. State parks and
historic sites will provide facilities that allow visitors a day use or
overnight experience in a natural or historic environment consistent with the
management and protection of the resource and the health, safety, and welfare
of all persons using the site. The director shall determine which activities
are appropriate to each site and establish terms and conditions for the use of
site facilities by visitors. Such terms and conditions shall be made known to
users of site facilities by signs, printed materials or other means designed to
provide reasonable notice.
(2)
Fees. The director is authorized to establish and implement a
schedule of reasonable fees for activities and the use and enjoyment of
facilities at state parks and historic sites. Rates are established, and from
time to time revised, by the director and made available at all sites, upon
request. In establishing rates, the division shall consider the discount for
certified disabled veterans provided for in the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated Section
12-3-9.1. The director shall have
the authority to waive the imposition of a fee in cases where he deems such
waiver to be in the best interest of the division.
(3)
Reservations and Refunds.
The director is authorized to establish terms and conditions for accepting
reservations, collecting deposits and fees, setting check-in and check-out
times and procedures, and making refunds for activities and facilities at state
parks and historic sites. Such terms and conditions may vary from site to site
and shall be made available at all sites, upon request.
(4)
Boating and Water Use
Activities.
(a) Boating.
1. The authority of the director to establish
conditions for the use of site waters shall include, but is not limited to,
limiting the type of vessels permitted, prohibiting the use of privately owned
vessels, prohibiting the use of motors, or stipulating the type and power of
motors permitted and the hours of their use. Conditions established by the
director shall not be in conflict with the restrictions specified in the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Section
12-3-10(e) through
(h).
2. All vessels using site waters shall be
launched and removed at designated water access areas only. No privately-owned
vessel shall be left unattended in site waters for longer than 24 hours without
authorization from the site manager.
3. No person, other than a licensed
concessionaire or site associates shall rent, hire or operate for charge any
vessel in any site. Nor shall any watercraft operating for hire or carrying
passengers for a fee land, receive or discharge passengers at any dock, wharf
or anchorage within the jurisdiction of the division, except by permit or
concession agreement.
4. No person
shall operate any vessel in such a manner as to annoy, frighten or endanger
other site visitors or users.
5. No
person, other than authorized site associates, law enforcement officers, or
emergency rescue personnel, shall operate any vessel other than a float or
inner tube in a site swimming area.
6. The operation of vessels in waters
administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service shall be in conformity with applicable federal laws and
regulations.
(b) Water
Skiing.
1. The towing of persons by vessels is
prohibited, except in designated waters.
2. Towing or being towed in channels or
within 500 feet of areas designated as marinas, swimming beaches, or mooring
areas, or within 100 feet of a person fishing or a diver's marker is
prohibited.
(c) Swimming.
1. No person shall swim, dive, snorkel, or
wade in the waters of any site except in designated areas.
2. All individuals in swimming areas shall
comply with posted hours, conditions of use, and instructions given by
authorized site associates.
(d) SCUBA Diving.
1. No person shall SCUBA dive in the waters
of any site except in designated areas, which shall not include areas reserved
for swimming, docking, or mooring.
2. All SCUBA divers must be in possession of
a certification card and display a standard diver flag when diving.
(e) Fishing.
1. No person shall fish within areas
designated for swimming only.
2.
Site managers may prohibit fishing from boat docks or other areas to ensure the
safety of those using site facilities.
(5)
Horseback Riding.
(a) Horseback riding is prohibited except in
specially designated sites and areas. In sites where riding is prohibited,
horses must be confined to a trailer at all times.
(b) Where permitted, horses shall be
thoroughly broken, properly restrained and ridden with due care, and shall not
be allowed to graze or go unattended, nor shall they be hitched to any rock,
tree or plant.
(6)
Golf. No person shall play golf or drive, pitch, putt or otherwise
strike a golf ball in any site except in designated areas and under conditions
specified by the director.
(7)
Picnicking.
(a) Picnicking is
allowed, except in areas closed under Rule
391-5-1.03(2). The
director may establish conditions for picnicking in areas where picnicking is
allowed. Picnicking in violation of established conditions is
prohibited.
(b) Picnic areas shall
not be used for purposes other than picnicking without authorization from the
site manager.
(c) Use of picnic
area facilities including picnic shelters, grills, tables and benches is on a
"first come, first served" basis. However, this practice shall not preclude the
division from assigning or reserving these facilities for the use of particular
persons or groups. No person or group shall use any picnic area, shelter, or
facilities to the exclusion of other persons for an unreasonable time if
facilities are crowded. The determination of what is unreasonable will be made
by site associates based on the number of visitors waiting to use the picnic
facilities.
(8)
Camping. No person shall erect any temporary shelter, such as a
tent, of natural or synthetic material, or prepare a sleeping bag or other
bedding material for the purpose of overnight occupancy in any site or bring
into any site any movable structure or special vehicle to use for overnight
occupancy without registering with site associates, paying the required camping
fees, and complying with conditions of use as posted or provided by the
site.
(9)
Games and Athletic
Contests. No games or athletic contests are allowed in any site except
in areas designated for such activities or under terms and conditions specified
by the site manager. No games or athletic contests shall be engaged in or
practiced for either material or financial gain, either directly or indirectly,
and there shall be no commercialization or advertising by the
participants.
(10) Other
recreational activities may be permitted when the director has determined that
they do not:
(a) have an undesirable impact
on site resources;
(b) threaten the
health, safety, and welfare of persons using the site;
(c) interfere with normal site usage or
operations;
(d) compromise the
historic or natural character of the site;
(e) cause unwarranted risk to participants
due to the nature or the activity, inadequate equipment, lack of
qualifications, or weather;
(f)
constitute a consumptive form of use;
(g) take the form of special events;
or
(h) are not provided primarily
for the benefit of spectators.
O.C.G.A. §
12-3-9.
