Georgia

Reminder: Many Georgia State Parks offering 'First Day Hikes'

Published

1 year ago

December 28, 2024

Reminder: Many Georgia State Parks offering 'First Day Hikes'

Ring in the New Year with nature! Georgia State Parks offer over 70 guided hikes for all levels on New Year’s Day, from easy family walks to challenging treks, including accessible options. Celebrate with a First Day Hike sticker and connect with friends and family in the great outdoors.

All across the country, people can welcome 2025 with an inspirational “First Day Hike” on New Year’s Day. Georgia’s State Park and Historic Site rangers are offering more than 70 guided adventures where participants can connect with friends, family and the great outdoors. Visitors can choose from a variety of distances and difficulties, from kid-friendly strolls to heart-pumping treks and wheelchair accessible trails. Participants will go home with a First Day Hikes sticker to commemorate their accomplishment as part of this nationwide movement.

First Day Hikes is a national initiative from America’s State Parks that encourages people to get outside and explore nature. It began more than three decades ago, and all 50 states have participated. A few unique First Day Hikes in Georgia include watching sunrise over the Okefenokee Swamp at Stephen C. Foster State Park, exploring a pitcher plant bog at Jack Hill State Park, a musket firing at Fort Morris Historic Site, and birding at Crooked River State Park. Dozens of additional hikes are listed on GaStateParks.org.

This year, Georgia State Parks will host two accessible hikes where mobility-impaired visitors can borrow all-terrain wheelchairs free of charge. Advanced reservations are required by December 27 for these two programs. The first is at Sweetwater Creek State Park west of Atlanta and the second is at Tallulah Gorge State Park in northeast Georgia. Participants may also bring their own all-terrain wheelchairs. A few more state parks have also planned First Day Hikes on easy, accessible trails, including Panola Mountain, Florence Marina, Seminole and Richard B. Russell.

For park guests who want to celebrate a quiet New Year’s Eve surrounded by fresh air, Georgia’s State Parks offer cozy cabins, heated yurts and modern campsites. Fireworks and sparklers are not allowed in state parks, making them a peaceful choice for the holiday – especially those with dogs. For reservations, call 1-800-864-7275 or visit GaStateParks.org.

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Related Topics:Featured Georgia DNR|First Day Hike

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Georgia

Georgia man arrested after confessing to 1989 New Jersey cold case murder, authorities say

Published

3 hours ago

June 1, 2026

Press Room

Georgia man arrested after confessing to 1989 New Jersey cold case murder, authorities say

June 1, 2026 / 11:13 AM EDT
/ CBS Atlanta

A Griffin, Georgia man is now under arrest, charged in connection with a cold case homicide investigation in New Jersey, prosecutors say.

It’s been nearly 37 years since 42-year-old Mauricio Cuadra was shot during an apparent home invasion; now, authorities say 62-year-old Joseph Quiros-Soto is charged with his murder.

Officials say on Aug. 9, 1989, the officers with the Bayonne Police Department responded to reports of a home invasion and shooting at an apartment on the 400 block of Avenue C. Inside the home, they found Cuadra suffering from a gunshot wound. Cuadra died shortly after.

The case remained a mystery until 2024, when Quiros-Soto confessed to the murder to police in Locust Grove, Georgia, saying that he had become a born-again Christian, NJ.com reports.

Police told the outlet that he gave the detectives details of the crime and allowed visiting Hudson County authorities to take a DNA sample, which matched a stain on the victim.

Authorities were eventually able to obtain a warrant for the Georgia man’s arrest. On May 27, 2026, deputies with the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office arrested Quiros-Soto at his home in Griffin, charging him with murder and murder during the commission of a burglary.

Quiros-Soto is being detained in Georgia, awaiting extradition to New Jersey.

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Georgia

Who Mississippi State baseball will play next in NCAA Tournament super regional

Published

13 hours ago

June 1, 2026

Press Room

Who Mississippi State baseball will play next in NCAA Tournament super regional

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball has made the super regionals in the NCAA Tournament and will face a team its already played four times.

The No. 14 national seed Bulldogs (43-17) are matched up with No. 3 Georgia (49-12). The best-of-three series will take place in Athens, Georgia, because Georgia is the higher seed.

The super regionals run from June 5-8, and the winner will make the College World Series.

MSU is 0-4 against Georgia this season, getting swept at Dudy Noble Field and then losing a fourth time in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. Georgia won the SEC regular season and tournament championships.

Both teams made it through their regionals without a loss. Mississippi State blew out Louisiana 19-5 on May 31, while Georgia defeated Liberty.

MSU has played Georgia only once in postseason history, losing in the 1990 College World Series.

Mississippi State baseball history in super regionals

Mississippi State has played in 10 super regionals and won five of them. It has won three straight super regionals. MSU is 2-4 as the visiting team in super regionals.

New Mississippi State coach Brian O’Connor is 7-2 in super regionals.

NCAA baseball tournament schedule

Super regionals: June 5-8
College World Series: June 12-22

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

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Georgia

Georgia football picks up two commitments for 2027 recruiting class

Published

23 hours ago

May 31, 2026

Press Room

Georgia football picks up two commitments for 2027 recruiting class

Georgia football landed a pair of commitments Sunday for its 2027 recruiting class.

Wide receiver Taurean Rawlins from Mount Vernon School in Atlanta posted on his X account on May 31 that he’s pledged to the Bulldogs.

Georgia also picked up a commitment from offensive tackle DJ Dotson from Hattiesburg, Miss., he posted on his Instagram account.

Both are rated 3-star prospects.

“I loved the support and love they showed towards me and my family,” Dotson said in a text message to the Athens Banner-Herald.

The 6-foot, 175-pound Rawlins is rated the No. 58 wide receiver in the 2027 class and the No. 478 overall prospect.

Rawlins had 67 catches for 1,395 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, according to MaxPreps.

Rawlins and Dotson give Georgia 10 commitments for this cycle.

Rawlins is the first wide receiver commitment. He also had offers from Ohio State, Florida and Michigan.

Georgia signed four wide receivers in its 2026 class: Craig Dandridge, Ryan Mosley, Dallas Dickerson and late addition Tre Shields.

Rawlins’ coach at Mount Vernon is former Georgia star wide receiver Terrence Edwards.

The 6-foot-7, 330-pound Dotson is rated as the nation’s No. 85 offensive tackle prospect and the No. 851 overall prospect.

He picked Georgia over Ole Miss, LSU and Georgia Tech, according to 247Sports.

Georgia also has offensive line commitments in its 2027 class from Kelsey Adams from Langston Hughes, Abram Eisenhower from Lowndes and Ty Johnson from Mount Pleasant, S.C.

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