Michelle Obama Park opens at Intrenchment Creek

A ribbon cutting ceremony kickstarted a day of conservationism and sustainability efforts at a newly reopened park on Sept. 26. 

Michelle Obama Park at Intrenchment Creek was reopened to the public for the first time since 2023, with the ribbon cutting ceremony highlighting a pavilion, a paved walking trail featuring a boardwalk, a new parking lot, and DeKalb County’s only remote-controlled airplane field and runway as part of the park’s $1.8 million phase one investment. County officials also noted that the trail is positioned to see several streams flowing to the South River, but none of the streams were actively flowing during the park’s opening. 

The ribbon cutting coincided with DeKab’s “From Forest to Fabric: Rethinking What You Wear,” an official Atlanta Sustainable Fashion Week event highlighting the connection between fashion, sustainability, and environmental stewardship. The opening of the park also featured bird watching, honey tasting, guided hikes, and a pollinator planting lesson. 

“Reopening Michelle Obama Park represents our commitment to investing in the quality of life our residents deserve while protecting the natural resources that make DeKalb County special,” said DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson. “This park is about much more than recreation. It is about creating connections and building community, while advancing environmental stewardship, alternative transportation, and economic opportunity.”  

The new trail provides a connection to Gresham Park while expanding access along the 10.17-mile South River Trail, a component of DeKalb County’s goal for an interconnected trail system.  

DeKalb County officials also completed decade-long negotiations to acquire the Donzi Trail, a connection that county officials said will help link DeKalb County’s trail network to the Atlanta Beltline. County officials said the goal is continuous trail network extending from the Donzi Trailhead through the county and to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Rockdale County.  

“Our trail network is an investment in healthier communities, mobility, environmental preservation and economic development,” said Dekalb County Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs Director Christopher Bass. “We are building infrastructure that connects people not only to parks and nature, but also to one another.”  

Before Intrenchment Creek Park’s closure, DeKalb County’s original park on Intrenchment Creek, the park had been the site of protests against the nearby Atlanta Public Safety Training Facility and a controversial land swap agreement between DeKalb County and Blackhall Studios (more recently known as Shadowbox Studios). In 2023, 26-year-old Manuel Esteban Paez Terán was shot and killed by Georgia State Patrol troopers during a raid to clear out an encampment of activists protesting the construction of the training center. Shortly after the shooting, then-DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond closed the park until further notice, citing “potentially dangerous contraptions and traps discovered by law enforcement.” 

County officials said they set a goal of completing the northern portion of Michelle Obama Park in approximately one year to further expand recreational access and trail connectivity.  

Michelle Obama Park will also have a full-time park naturalist, who county officials said will help preserve, protect and enhance its natural environment for future generations.