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Chattanoogans have something beyond a fresh year to look forward to in 2022 — if all goes as planned, the new year will bring the completion of a local trail that’s 20+ years in the making.
The South Chickamauga Creek Greenway has been in the works by the Trust for Public Land since 1994, and we got a sneak peek of the trail’s newer portions ahead of its completion to share with you.
Features of the trail
- The first completed greenway that feeds into the Tennessee Riverpark
- 3 different kayak + canoe launches
- Entirely ADA accessible
- Features a section at the Cromwell Hills affordable housing community, providing those residents with another viable transportation route
- Allows residents to explore a completely different part of the city — one that has likely only been accessed by car
- Filled with interesting history + facts — there are even some species that only live in South Chick Creek
- Potential plans for the future include adding e-bike Chattanooga stations at Cromwell Hills + even the Airport
Why has it taken so long?
- At the current portion in progress, the rock is so hard that crews can only dig 6 inches a day.
- Along the greenway corridor, there are ~50 individual landowners, and the Trust for Public Land ensured that all landowners are willing — if a landowner wasn’t willing, the plan had to change.
- As a partnership with the City of Chattanooga, the project has also needed to gain support of all of the City Mayors that Chattanooga’s seen in the past 2 decades.
- As with any project, there are minute details that the public doesn’t get to see while under construction — for instance, 1 section of the greenway needed to be inspected by an environmental regulator to ensure that it’s wasn’t harming protected bat habitats.
Where can I access the greenway?
There are several trailheads across the 12-mile walkable, bike-able greenway.
- Camp Jordan
- Lost Mound, which is the trailhead that connects the greenway to the TN Riverwalk — yes, this means you can get from downtown to Camp Jordan via bike, just using these trail systems.
- Sterchi Farm
- Faith Road
- Shallowford Road + Brainerd Levee
- Brainerd Roa
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