Where does the Aldridge Creek Greenway end? For years the answer was Ditto Landing. The City of Huntsville's segment listing still describes Aldridge Creek as a 5.49-mile path that starts near Bailey Cove Road, south of Weatherly Road, and runs down to Ditto Landing. If you walked or rode it, you turned around at the river and came back the way you came.
That changed on July 29, 2026. Mayor Tommy Battle cut the ribbon on a 1.5-mile Tennessee River Greenway addition from Redstone Road to Green Cove Road. According to the City of Huntsville's announcement, that stretch completes a continuous 17-mile loop in South Huntsville. Ditto Landing is now a place you pass through. This fall, that matters more than the new mileage, because most of the season's greenway events happen at one end of the loop or the other.
Ditto Landing stopped being a turnaround
Construction on the new segment started in September 2025. When the city approved it a month later, it called this the final link between the Tennessee River Greenway and the Aldridge Creek Greenway. The two connect through the Weatherly Road multi-use path, which also ties into the existing greenway network along Haysland Road. The contract, worth $1.5 million, went to Grayson Carter & Son Contracting Inc. for the third phase of the Tennessee River Greenway.
The loop also got longer between announcement and opening. In October 2025, the city's construction approval described a 15-mile loop. At the July 2026 ribbon-cutting, the city called it 17 miles. Use the newer number when you plan a full lap.
There's a third figure you may run into. The South Greenway Loop System map the city released with the opening totals 21.36 miles. That total counts unpaved stretches and proposed paths, and the legend marks them separately from the finished loop. If the map shows a line you can't find on the ground, check the legend before you blame your sense of direction.
District 3 Council Member Jennie Robinson said at the opening, in the city's account:
"I know in south Huntsville, completing this loop is something everyone has been looking forward to."
Pick your start point by where you want to end up
A loop has no official beginning, so your parking spot is your plan. Three access points cover most of the circuit, and each one puts a different part of the loop at your halfway mark.
- Ken Johnston Park, 1100 Mountain Gap Road. It has restrooms and a pavilion, and the city lists it as an Aldridge Creek parking area. From here you're on the creek side, and the river is the far end of your lap. Good for a morning when you want restrooms at the start and the river as your reward.
- Ditto Landing. It's the other Aldridge Creek parking area the city lists. Before July it was where the trail ended. Now you can head off in either direction, so it's the most flexible place to start. It's also where most of the fall events below take place.
- Hays Farm Sports Park. This is the Haysland Road end. Organizers of the weekly Hays Farm parkrun send participants to the Sports Park lot and tell them to search for the Hays Farm Clubhouse at 1117 Haysland Road SW. The city lists the nearby Elgie's Walk Greenway at 2 miles. Start here and the Memorial Parkway restaurant cluster is a short walk from where you parked.
One local quirk is worth knowing. The Atwood Linear Park Greenway, a 0.9-mile path from Mira Vista Drive to Four Mile Post Road near Valley Bend at Jones Farm, has no parking of its own, according to the city's greenway inventory. The lengths and parking details on these older city pages date to 2020 and 2023. Treat them as a starting point, and confirm current conditions with Huntsville Parks & Recreation before a long ride.
This fall's calendar gathers at the loop's two ends
This is where your starting point pays off. Between now and New Year's, the scheduled greenway events fall at either Hays Farm or Ditto Landing. Most of them are at the river.
| Date | Event | Where on the loop | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Every Saturday, 7:30 a.m. | Hays Farm parkrun | Hays Farm / Elgie's Walk end | Free timed 5K, open to walkers and runners |
| Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 11th Annual Rods and Wheels Cruise-In | Ditto Landing, near Kingston Pavilion | Free spectator admission and parking, food trucks |
| Sunday, Nov. 29, 8 a.m. | Ditto Landing 10K | Ditto Landing and nearby greenways | Huntsville Track Club race on a flat course |
| Dec. 1 to 31 | Christmas on the River 2026 | Ditto Landing | Month-long run; check the event page for programming |
Saturday is the loop's busiest morning. The Hays Farm parkrun goes off at 7:30 a.m. at the Haysland end every week, and it's free. On November 7, the Rods and Wheels Cruise-In fills the Kingston Pavilion area at Ditto Landing from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The loop's two ends can be part of the same morning. You could finish the parkrun at Hays Farm, then drive or ride over to the river once the cars have parked.
The Ditto Landing 10K falls on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, November 29, at 8 a.m. The race's course map page describes a flat course along the Tennessee River that uses the greenways and the area around Ditto Landing. If you usually train on Aldridge Creek, the new river segment is the obvious place to put in some miles on flat ground beforehand.
Ditto Landing lists Christmas on the River 2026 for every day from December 1 through December 31. Hours and programming haven't been posted on the event page, which points visitors to the event's Facebook page. Check there before you plan an evening around it.
Where to eat when you come off the trail
The loop has no restaurants on the path itself. The closest food is at the Hays Farm end, so a lap that finishes there ends near a meal.
The Market at Hays Farm directory lists Starbucks Coffee, Amerigo, Rock N Roll Sushi, Wingstop, City Bowls, El Vaquero, Five Guys and Jersey Mike's along Memorial Parkway. That covers coffee before a parkrun, a quick lunch, or a sit-down dinner after a long Saturday.
The newest addition in that cluster is Sofia's Roadside Cantina. Axios Huntsville reported it would open January 24 off Haysland Road, and the Hays Farm directory lists it at 9086 Memorial Parkway SW. It's an easy stop after the parkrun's finish line.
At the Ditto Landing end, the Cruise-In on November 7 brings food trucks. On other days, plan to bring water and snacks, or loop back toward Haysland Road to eat.
If you start on the creek side, you're closer to Valley Bend. Its directory includes Another Broken Egg, Biscuit Belly and Grain and Berry. That directory is a few years old, so call ahead before you build a brunch around it.
The pieces still on paper
The 17-mile loop is finished. The network around it is still growing, and the next piece would make the creek side easier to reach from the neighborhoods.
In February 2026, the city announced a planned 2.4-mile multi-use path along Bailey Cove Road and Four Mile Post Road. It would run between Weatherly Road and Four Mile Post Road and eventually connect to Aldridge Creek. At the time, the city said construction timelines would come after engineering and coordination with ALDOT. For now it's a plan, and you can't walk it yet.
Jones Farm Park appears on the city's loop system map. The city lists it as a 33-acre passive green space with pavilions on Carl T. Jones Drive. It's a good place for a picnic near the north end of the system. Before you count it as a trailhead for a full lap, check how it connects using the map's legend.
For a first full lap this fall, park at Ditto Landing on a Saturday morning, head toward Hays Farm, and time your return so you're back at the river for the Cruise-In on November 7.
If you're thinking about a move within South Huntsville and want to know which streets put a loop access point within walking distance, Sheryl Schettinger can go through the map with you street by street. Schedule a free consultation.
