"This loop began 20 years ago with the Aldridge Creek Greenway," Mayor Tommy Battle said on July 29, 2026, before the countdown that opened the last 1.5 miles of trail in South Huntsville. Seven weeks later, on September 15, the city cut another ribbon at a building its own greenway page lists as an Aldridge Creek destination. This one opened the Sandra Moon Community Complex on the former Grissom High School campus, the end of a phased redevelopment that ran about ten years.
Both projects took years, and both were finished within weeks of each other. The greenway page names the Sandra Moon Complex alongside Ditto Landing among the trail's destinations. So this fall is the first time a South Huntsville evening can go from the river to a 611-seat theater to dinner on Bailey Cove Road, without heading north of Airport Road.
Seventeen Miles, Depending on Who Measured
The new segment of the Tennessee River Greenway runs from Redstone Road to Green Cove Road. Construction started in September 2025. With that segment in place, the trail connects through the Aldridge Creek Greenway to Ditto Landing and the Tennessee River, forming one continuous loop.
The city's announcement calls it a 17-mile loop. The next day, 256 Today reported 14.7 miles. When the council approved construction in 2025, the city described a 15-mile loop that would run along the Weatherly Road multi-use path. The city's July 2026 map shows 21.36 miles, but that figure counts proposed paths as well as finished ones. For planning a long Saturday ride, the city's 17 miles is the working number. Your own GPS will settle it.
District 3 Council Member Jennie Robinson said the loop connects 13 public parks. For getting on the trail, the city lists parking at Ken Johnston Park and Ditto Landing for the Aldridge Creek side. Ditto Landing is also the trailhead for the Tennessee River Greenway, which continues west to the Madison County Marina. The Aldridge Creek Greenway runs near Bailey Cove Road, from half a mile south of Weatherly Road down to Ditto Landing. That puts the Sandra Moon complex and the Bailey Cove restaurants near the same corridor as the trail.
The Theater on the Greenway
The city put $32.4 million into renovating the Sandra Moon Community Complex. The former Grissom auditorium is now the David A. Chan Theatre. It is a 611-seat proscenium house with new seating, motorized rigging, an orchestra shell, full video projection and new dressing rooms. The city designed it, and Arts Huntsville handles daily management.
The building also houses more than the stage. Robinson described an event hall, two gymnasiums, art and rehearsal rooms, and multimedia production spaces. There is also an adaptive recreation area for adults with special needs, with adult changing tables, a sensory room and a rest area for caregivers. "There's nothing like this anywhere else in the state," she said.
The South Huntsville Library came first on this campus. It celebrated its fifth birthday on September 26, the same day as the theater's Showcase of the Arts, when twelve local arts groups took the stage in half-hour slots. Those groups are now filling the theater's first season.
The Fall Calendar, Trail and Stage Together
What makes this season unusual is how closely the dates on the trail and the dates in the theater line up. Here they are side by side, through early December:
| Date | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| Thu., Oct. 1, 7 p.m. | David A. Chan Theatre | Brass Band of Huntsville, "Galaxies and Milestones: Celebrating 25 Years," free |
| Oct. 2–3, 6 p.m. | David A. Chan Theatre | Around the Curtain Children's Theatre, "Raise Your Voice: A Broadway Revue" |
| Wed., Oct. 7, 9 a.m.–noon | Bar Lake, Hays Nature Preserve | Fall Break Fishing Fest, free |
| Oct. 13, 6:30–7:30 p.m. | Sandra Moon Event Center | District 3 Town Hall |
| Oct. 16–25 | David A. Chan Theatre | Independent Musical Productions, "Dear Evan Hansen" |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Aldridge Creek Greenway | RuckUp22, anywhere from Ditto Landing to Bailey Cove Road |
| Thu., Oct. 29, 4:30–7:30 p.m. | Sandra Moon complex | "Howling on The Moon," Parks & Recreation Halloween event |
| Thu., Oct. 29, 7 p.m. | David A. Chan Theatre | Huntsville Community Chorus Association, "Music of Stage & Screen" |
| Sun., Nov. 1, 2–7 p.m. | David A. Chan Theatre | North Alabama Community Band Festival, free |
| Nov. 19–22 | David A. Chan Theatre | Independent Musical Productions, "Come From Away" |
| Thu., Nov. 26 | Ditto Landing | Theatre Turkey Trot, 5K and one-mile fun run |
| Sun., Nov. 29 | Ditto Landing | Huntsville Track Club's Ditto Landing 10K |
| Dec. 5–6 | David A. Chan Theatre | Dance Elan, "The Rocket City Nutcracker" |
October 29 stands out. A family can be at the Halloween event at the Moon in the late afternoon, and the chorus starts in the same building at 7. For the Turkey Trot, the registration page lists two different start times for the fun run, so check before Thanksgiving morning. The Ditto Landing 10K raises money for the Huntsville Track Club's scholarship fund, which grew out of a fun run first held more than 25 years ago.
The winter half of the season is still being scheduled. The city has announced holiday concerts by the Huntsville Youth Orchestra and the community chorus, the Beasley Brothers Christmas Show and Rocket City Ballet's "Nutcracker," with dates and tickets to come.
Dinner on the Same Corridor
In a September 9 piece, AL.com food writer Matt Wake argued that South Huntsville, which he counts as everything south of Airport Road, is now arguably the city's hottest place to eat. His example was Viet Taste, which opened in late March at 4900 Bailey Cove Road. In his piece, chef Daniel Sikorski of Nick's Ristorante says he eats there every week.
That shopping center works well for dinner after the theater or a ride. Southern Egg Café serves classic breakfasts there, Nonna's Restaurant serves home-style Italian, and Yeti Dog, a Korean street food spot, is next door to Viet Taste. Wake's longer list of South Huntsville spots includes:
- Good Company Café for breakfast and brunch at 7500 Memorial Parkway SW, Suite 123. Its owners opened a second location in Five Points this year.
- Salt + Light, which Wake calls affordable gourmet, and Bubby's Diner for a meat-and-three.
- Fatso's Pizza and Bigfoot's Little Donuts at Village Center.
- Angel's Island Coffee and Nick's Ristorante, two longtime South Huntsville favorites.
Wake also explains part of why the area is growing. Commercial space in South Huntsville often costs less than downtown, and local owners have taken advantage of it.
What Is Still Being Built at the River
The next piece is at Ditto Landing. The old state docks building is becoming the Ditto Landing Event Center, with indoor and outdoor concert space, two restaurant areas and an upper-level rental room called the Crow's Nest. Robinson said the Crow's Nest will hold about 50 to 75 people and look out over the Tennessee River, Hobbs Island and the Cumberland Plateau. The city has built a road to the site and expects the building to be finished this fall.
A finished building does not yet mean events. WAFF reported in June that the original target for the building was mid-October. Events can't start until a 450-space parking lot is done, and that work could run into November. County leaders were also still looking for a restaurant operator at the time. The latest public updates don't give an opening date or name a tenant. For now, the Turkey Trot and the 10K are the dated reasons to end a November weekend at the river.
The loop, the Moon and Bailey Cove Road already fill South Huntsville's fall calendar. When the event center opens, the river end of the loop will have its own concert stage and restaurants.
At Ainsworth Homes, we build homes around the routines people actually keep, like a morning on the trail or an evening at a nearby theater. If you're thinking about how a new home could fit the way you spend your days, we'd be glad to talk it through. Schedule Your Design Consultation.
