Top Hiking Areas in Pooler, GA – Savannah & Ogeechee Canal Trail | Pooler Smoke & Vape

Savannah & Ogeechee Canal Trail

681 Fort Argyle Road, Savannah, Georgia 31419, United States

The Savannah-Ogeechee Canal, built in the 1820s and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was formerly an essential transportation route for delivering plantation commodities to market.

The canal is 16.5 miles long, and Chatham County Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs is collaborating with the Savannah-Ogeechee Canal Society to turn the region into a multi-purpose linear park. The pathway passes through sandhill, marsh, and pine woodland environments, which are all frequent in coastal Georgia. Wetland regions are traversed by boardwalks, however high tides might create flooding.

From Lock 6 on the Ogeechee River to I-16, seven miles of the towpath are open to pedestrians as follows: The Savannah-Ogeechee Canal Museum & Nature Center is 0.5 mile away (between Locks 6 and 5). The towpath is paved after Fort Argyle Road and is known as Bush Road. It extends for about 3 miles. This road leads to Lock 4, which is about a mile down the road. The towpath is a dirt road from Little Neck Road to Half Moon Lake (the Canal's water supply), which is bridged by a bridge and boardwalk for about 1.5 miles to the Half Moon Lake Dam.

A 0.5-mile paved road (Canal Bank Road) leads to Quacco Road beyond this point. You can get to I-16 by crossing Quacco Road for another 1.5 miles. A swampy area beyond the two subdivisions may be difficult to access.

You may learn more about the canal's history and the local ecological history of the area at the Ogeechee River terminal (near Lock 5) where there is a small museum and nature center.

Mission and History

One of the most important relics in the history of southern canals is the Historic Savannah-Ogeechee Barge Canal.

The Savannah – Ogeechee Canal, which was established in 1824, was built between 1826 and 1830 by African and Irish workmen who transported thousands of cubic yards of earth. The canal was a boost to Georgia's economy, transporting local food and commerce from inland plantations along the Ogeechee River to Savannah's major trade port. Following a Civil War-era slowdown, the lumber sector resumed canal usage, but a series of yellow fever epidemics blamed on the canal caused a further fall. The canal was decommissioned in the early 1890s as the Central of Georgia Railroad took over as the primary mode of transit.

The waterway begins with a tidal lock on the Savannah River and travels 16 1/2 miles through four lift locks before reaching another tidal lock on the Ogeechee River. The canal ran through Savannah's 19th-century industrial corridor, former rice fields, lumber roads, and a still-lush tidal river marsh and surrounding sandhill environment, which is home to several distinct kinds of flora and fauna.

Parking and Trail Access

From Savannah, take I-95 south to Ft. Argyle Road, then turn west on Fort Argyle Road. After about 2 kilometers, on the left, you'll see a parking lot for the path and museum. There is a little cost for using the service.