The first time you walk back onto the towpath after almost two years away, the trail feels exactly the way you remember it. Same wide dirt path along the canal. Same turtles sunning on the rocks near the headgates. Same padlocks clustered on the bridge railing, where couples have been leaving a lock with their initials scratched in for longer than anyone can date exactly. Then you get to the Pavilion parking lot and realize the building itself is still wrapped in construction fencing, and you remember that "Savannah Rapids is back" was never one fact. It was four.
That distinction matters if you live in Martinez and treat this park the way most of us do: as a running loop, a dog-walking route, a place to drop a kayak in on a Saturday morning without thinking too hard about it. The trail, the canal water, the outfitters who rent you the kayak, and the banquet hall on the bluff are four separate systems with four separate timelines, and mixing them up is exactly why people keep showing up expecting one thing and finding another.
Two Governments, One Park
Here's the part that explains everything else. The Pavilion sits on land owned by the City of Augusta but is operated by Columbia County under a long-term lease. The canal and towpath running through the same park are Augusta's direct responsibility, managed through the city's utilities department in coordination with the Augusta Canal Authority. Same 33 acres, two different owners, two different budgets, two different sets of contractors making two different sets of decisions about when something is safe enough to reopen.
That's why the trail came back on the city's schedule while the Pavilion sits on the county's schedule, and why neither one tells you anything reliable about the other.
The Trail: Fully Open, After Two Separate Closures
Hurricane Helene hit the CSRA on September 27, 2024, and a tree came down across the towpath corridor hard enough that Augusta closed the entire route rather than try to clear it piecemeal. For over a year, the trail that locals use for morning runs and evening dog walks simply didn't exist as an option.
The first section came back on November 3, 2025, when Mayor Garnett Johnson announced the reopening of the stretch from the headgates at Savannah Rapids to the I-20 bridge, giving walkers about a mile and a half one way. Construction on the remaining sections started that January, and by this spring the city was describing the towpath as open end to end. Augusta's utilities director, Wes Byne, put it plainly when the full corridor reopened: the canal was running again for kayakers and joggers alike, with the towpath open from one end to the other.
What that means for you this week: the dirt path is walkable and bikeable along its full length again, wide enough for strollers, flat enough that it's still the easiest trail in the area if you're training for something or just trying to get a dog properly tired out. The love locks are still on the bridge. The headgates are still the spot locals treat as the unofficial sunset overlook, where the light catches the rapids on its way down.
The Water: Drained Twice, and Probably Draining Again Soon
Here's where it gets less tidy. The trail being open doesn't mean the canal itself has been untouched. Officials drained it earlier this year to clear storm debris and assess embankment damage, then refilled it once repairs allowed paddling to resume, according to reporting in May 2026 that quoted Byne confirming both the towpath and the water were open again.
But the deeper repair work, the kind that involves pulling root balls out of the canal banks, has been stuck waiting on federal sign-off. Chad Hendrix, an engineering and construction assistant director for the city, said in May that the plan was about 98 percent finished and sitting with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for review, with hopes of getting the project into the bid market by July or August. That puts the next phase of work landing right around now, which means residents who got used to a quiet, fully watered canal this spring may see equipment and drawn-down sections reappear along the banks before the year is out.
The total estimated cost of full canal rehabilitation sits at $32 million, with the city negotiating with FEMA and eyeing a portion of SPLOST 9, a proposed $375 million county sales tax measure, as one possible funding source. Russ Gambill, vice chairman of the Augusta Canal Authority, described the scale of what's left to fix and the bigger ambition behind it in the same breath: root balls all along the banks that "have to be removed," and a longer view of the corridor eventually functioning like a smaller version of Atlanta's BeltLine, with shops and restaurants growing up alongside the trail over time. That's a multi-year vision, not a next-season one, but it's the direction the county keeps pointing.
The canal turned 181 years old this year, dating back to 1845, a detail Hendrix mentioned almost in passing while explaining why the repairs are built for the long haul rather than a quick patch.
The Outfitters Are Back, If You Know Where to Look
The businesses that depend on both the trail and the water took the hardest financial hit during the closure, and they're the clearest sign that this recovery is real. Savannah Rapids Kayak Rental, based at 7 Savannah Rapids Trail, is running its full slate of routes again: a two-hour float down the Augusta Canal, a three-hour Savannah River run for more experienced paddlers, and a guided trip up to Stallings Island, a protected National Landmark known for some of the oldest pottery found in the country and for a herd of donkeys kept there to graze the vegetation.
In the weeks after Helene hit, the outfitter's owner told local reporters in blunt terms what a shuttered park does to a small business tied to it: constant calls from people wanting to book, and no way to let them in. That was the start of a closure that stretched well beyond anyone's early guess. The kayak rental and its sister shop, The Bicycle Peddler, both operate seasonal hours out of the park again, and Keg Creek Watersports at nearby Wildwood Park rounds out the water recreation options if you're looking for something beyond a paddle.
The Pavilion Itself Won't Be Back Until Next Summer
This is the piece that trips people up most, because the Pavilion is the most visible structure in the park and the easiest to assume is included in "reopened." It isn't.
The building took the worst damage of anything in the park during Helene. A tree fell directly onto it, the impact triggered the fire suppression system, and the resulting flood sat in the structure for days before crews could begin remediation. The lower level was gutted down to the studs. The building itself was already 34 years old, built in 1992, and county leaders had roughly $8 million set aside for a routine renovation before the storm ever hit. That number didn't hold. In April 2026, Columbia County's Management and Internal Services Committee approved an $11.4 million construction contract with Duckworth Development LLC, funded through Public Facilities Authority bonds and insurance proceeds, to rebuild the facility from the ground up rather than simply repair it.
The new design adds an elevator, reworks the landscaping, and consolidates what used to be two separate grease traps into one more efficient system. County officials are targeting a grand opening in the summer of 2027. If you had a wedding, reunion, or Chamber event booked there before the storm, you already know this. If you didn't, it's worth knowing before you plan around a building that isn't taking reservations again for close to another year.
Four Tracks, One Park
| What | Status right now | What's next |
|---|---|---|
| Towpath (trail) | Fully open, end to end | Ongoing maintenance |
| Canal water | Open to paddlers | Deeper repairs likely resuming this summer, pending FERC |
| Kayak/bike outfitters | Operating normal seasonal hours | Business as usual |
| Pavilion building | Closed, under full reconstruction | Targeting summer 2027 |
What This Actually Means for Your Weekend
If your plan is to walk the dog, run the towpath, or put a kayak in the water, none of the last two years of construction news should stop you. The trail is walkable in full, the outfitters are open, and the canal is running. If your plan involves the Pavilion, whether for a family reunion, a wedding, or just checking if it's finally back, hold off until closer to next summer, and check with the county directly before you build anything around it. And if you notice equipment or drawn-down sections reappearing near the banks later this year, that's not a step backward. It's the next phase of a repair plan that's been waiting on federal paperwork, not a sign the trail is closing again.
The park's amenities and current trail access are worth a look straight from the county if you want the most current word before you head out.
Martinez residents have spent two years watching this park come back in pieces. Knowing which piece is which is the difference between a wasted trip and a good Saturday.
If you're thinking about what a move in or out of this neighborhood might look like down the road, whether that's the space a growing family needs or the timing of a sale, The Moss Group knows this part of the CSRA block by block. Reach out to request a complimentary home valuation or schedule a conversation with Lisa Moss whenever the timing feels right.
