Truman Linear Park Trail Near Habersham Woods: Your Access Guide

"It's really about connections," John Bennett, an assistant professor of public administration at Savannah State University, told the Savannah Morning News at the July ribbon cutting for Truman Linear Park Trail Phase 2B. He had biked to work over the 52nd Street bridge across Truman Parkway for years and called the ride "terrifying." That bridge now has a protected bike lane. With it, the trail became one continuous path of about 7 miles, from near Daffin Park to Lake Mayer.

Habersham Woods sits close to the south end of that path. With the north end finished, a walk or ride from the Eisenhower Drive area can reach Daffin Park without a single stretch on a road shoulder. The part still unsettled is past Lake Mayer, and the city wants public input on that corridor this month.

One bridge lane joined the trail

Phase 2B was the missing middle. The City of Savannah's design scope describes it as about 2.3 miles of trail from the Phase I end at Bee Road and 52nd Street to the Phase IIA end at DeRenne Avenue near Jenkins High School, crossing Truman Parkway on 52nd Street. Before it opened, the southern sections and the Daffin Park section were separate trails, with the bridge Bennett described standing between them.

Now the trail runs south from the Daffin Park area along the Truman Parkway corridor. A 2024 Savannah Morning News ride account traced that southern part past Jenkins High School, across DeRenne Avenue, to Eisenhower, then across Sallie Mood Drive past Ambuc Park and the Chatham County Aquatic Center to the Lake Mayer loop. Lake Mayer, at 1850 East Montgomery Crossroads between Sallie Mood Drive and Truman Parkway, is a 99-acre Chatham County park with its own paved 1.4-mile walking and jogging path. Add the park loop to the trail and the south end of the route offers more than a straight out-and-back.

The trail is one piece of something larger. The city calls Tide to Town a core loop of more than 30 miles through every district of Savannah, with a full plan to connect more than 60 neighborhoods, 30 schools and three hospitals. The Truman segment is the first long stretch of that loop to run unbroken through midtown.

Getting on near Habersham Woods

Eisenhower Drive runs through Habersham Woods, and Lake Mayer is less than two miles from the neighborhood. Both matter because of where Friends of Tide to Town lists the trail's main access points. From south to north:

1. Lake Mayer, with trailhead parking at the northwest corner of the park
2. Sallie Mood Drive
3. Eisenhower Drive near Truman Parkway
4. Scarborough Athletic Complex, with trailhead parking at Skidaway Road and Bona Bella Avenue
5. DeRenne Avenue at Reuben Clark Drive
6. Reuben Clark Drive near Jenkins High School
7. 52nd Street at Oakland Drive
8. 52nd Street at Bee Road, near the Daffin Park Dog Park trailhead and its parking

The busiest road crossings have pedestrian-activated signals, which let people walking, biking or rolling stop traffic and cross. Tide to Town lists them at 52nd Street and Oakland Drive, Delesseps Avenue, DeRenne Avenue, and Eisenhower Drive at Sallie Mood Drive. The Eisenhower and Sallie Mood signal is the one closest to Habersham Woods. It is also the point where the trail crosses toward Ambuc Park and the aquatic center on its way to Lake Mayer.

A fall calendar that runs the length of the trail

With the trail continuous, the events at each end and the stops in between work as a single fall calendar. Every item below has a 2026 date and sits on or right beside the route.

The weekend of Oct. 17 and 18 is the busiest stretch at the south end. The Humane Society Fall Fair brings food trucks and adoptable pets to Sallie Mood Drive on Saturday afternoon. The next afternoon, the Savannah Philharmonic's sixth annual neighborhood series stops at Lake Mayer at 3 p.m., after concerts at Calvary Day School on Oct. 16 and Eastern Wharf on Oct. 17. Both events sit just off the trail, and Lake Mayer's parking will fill on a concert afternoon.

Bike Walk Savannah's Cycle Social is the only group ride on this calendar built around the trail itself. Riders meet at Scarborough at 6 p.m. and head north, bringing their own helmet, bike and water. The group says weather cancellations go out on Facebook about an hour before the start. The event page does not print a year, so check the listing before you head out. The Savannah Striders run gives Lake Mayer a steady 7 a.m. Saturday meetup through Thanksgiving weekend.

Where the trail stops past Lake Mayer

Lake Mayer is the trail's south end for now. The Savannah Morning News reported in July that a segment along Montgomery Cross Road, from Lake Mayer to Abercorn Street, is in the planning stage. A second segment, along Middleground Road from Georgia Southern University's Armstrong Campus to Montgomery Cross Road, is further along, in design. Together they would carry the trail west from Lake Mayer toward Abercorn and the Armstrong area. Neither has a published construction schedule.

That timing makes this month's public input more useful than usual. The City of Savannah is running a monthlong outreach effort for Savannah MOVES, which WSAV describes as the city's first multimodal transportation implementation plan. It covers sidewalks, pedestrian safety, bicycles, transit and micromobility, along with how they connect. According to the station, Montgomery Cross Road is a particular focus, with a corridor meeting at the STEM Academy on Oct. 20 from 6 to 8 p.m. City leaders say Savannah averages about 22 traffic deaths a year, and the recommendations could start shaping transportation spending as early as 2027. Final priorities have not been set.

The finished part of the trail is also due for more than pavement. At the July ribbon cutting, City Manager Jay Melder said the city is looking at bike repair stations and water stations where the trail is complete. He also mentioned wayfinding signs pointing to trail entrances, nearby parks and other parts of the network. For now, the access points and parking listed above are the clearest guide to getting on near Habersham Woods. Lake Mayer's northwest corner remains the main trailhead with parking at the south end.

When a neighborhood gains a trail, the change shows up in how a home is presented as much as on the map. Liza tracks details like these for her clients, including which access point is closest and how a Saturday at Lake Mayer actually plays out, because buyers ask about them. If you live in Habersham Woods and want to talk about how that kind of everyday access shapes the story of your home, Liza DiMarco would be glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.