Biking -- Savannah doesn’t usually have a lot of heavy traffic except during rush hours, so you can bicycle up and down the streets of the Historic District, visiting as many of the green squares as you wish. There’s no greater city bicycle ride in all the state of Georgia. The best place for rentals is Perry Rubber Bike Shop (tel. 912/236-9929; www.perryrubberbikeshop.com), 240 Bull St., open Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm and Sunday noon to 5pm. Full-day rentals are $35 (half-day is $20). Many inns and hotels also provide bikes for their guests. Note that riding on the sidewalks, and through (rather than around), the squares is illegal. Savannah Bike Tours (tel. 912/704-4043; www.savannahbiketours.com), 41 Habersham St, runs relaxed, daily 2-hour guided tours on bikes (bikes provided). Tours are $25 for ages 12 and above, and $10 for children 11 and under.
Fishing -- Amick’s Deep Sea Fishing, 6902 Sand Nettles Dr. (tel. 912/897-6759; www.amicksdeepseafishing.com), offers daily charters featuring a 41-foot 1993 custom-built boat. The rate is $120 per person and includes rod, reel, bait, and tackle. Bring your own lunch. Beer and soda are sold on board. Reservations are recommended, but if you show up 30 minutes before the scheduled departure, there may be space available—Amick’s accepts individuals, not just groups. The boat departs at 7am and returns at either 3 or 5pm.
Golf -- Bacon Park Golf Course, Shorty Cooper Drive (tel. 912/354-2625; www.baconparkgolf.com), offers three nine-hole courses (two designed by Donald Ross in 1926), with greens fees around $35 for an 18-hole round, including cart. Golf facilities include a lighted driving range, putting greens, and a pro shop. It’s open daily dawn to dusk.
Henderson Golf Club, 1 Henderson Dr. (tel. 912/920-4653; www.hendersongolfclub.com), includes an 18-hole championship course, a lighted driving range, a PGA professional staff, and golf instruction and schools. The greens fees are $33 Monday to Friday and $39 Saturday and Sunday. It’s open daily 7am to 7pm.
Or try the 9-hole Mary Calder Golf Club, 1201 West Lathrop Ave. (tel. 912/238-7100), where the greens fees, including cart, are $20 per day Monday to Friday and $25 per day Saturday and Sunday. It’s open daily 7am to 8pm (or 5:30pm in winter).
Jogging -- [“]The most beautiful city to jog in”—that’s how the president of the Savannah Striders Club (www.savystrider.com) characterizes Savannah. The historic avenues indeed provide an exceptional setting for your run. Visit the website for details of where to run and of organized group runs.
Recreational Parks -- Bacon Park includes 1,021 acres, with archery, golf, tennis, and baseball fields. Daffin Park, 1001 E. Victory Dr. (tel. 912/351-3851), features playgrounds, tennis, basketball, baseball, a swimming pool, a lake pavilion, and picnic grounds. Both parks are open daily 8am to 11pm (Oct–Apr until 10pm).
Located at Montgomery Cross Road and Sallie Mood Drive, Lake Mayer Community Park (tel. 912/652-6780) consists of 75 acres featuring a multitude of activities, such as public fishing and boating, lighted jogging and bicycle trails, a playground, and pedal-boat rentals.
Tennis -- Bacon Park Tennis Center, 6262 Skidaway Rd. (tel. 912/351-3850), offers 16 hard, lighted courts open Monday to Thursday 9am to 9pm, and Friday to Sunday 9am to 5pm. The Daffin Park Tennis Complex, 1001 E. Victory Drive (tel. 912/351-3851), offers six supervised clay courts and three lighted hard courts, open daily 8:30am to 7pm. Court fees at both places are $6 per player. Forsyth Park, at Drayton and Gaston streets (tel. 912/351-3850), has four courts open daily 7am to 9pm that are free. Use of the eight lighted courts at Lake Mayer Park, Montgomery Cross Road, is also free. They are open daily 8am to 11pm.
Especially for Kids
Savannah is an extremely family-oriented city, with many of its major attractions offering programs and tours targeted specifically at kids. The Massie Heritage Center and Savannah Children’s Museum are two sights specifically geared to little ones, but the Georgia State Railroad Museum is also lots of fun—especially on days when the steam train is running. Consider also the ArtZeum at the Jepson Center for the Arts, a hands-on gallery that encourages children to explore art using large installations they can walk into, architectural building blocks, a magnetic sculpture wall, and other interactive displays.
Weekends at Fort Pulaski and Old Fort Jackson are especially entertaining, with musket and soldier demonstrations, cannon firing, encampments of costumed troops, special programs, and demonstrations.
Any member of the Girl Scouts will of course be excited to visit the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace, home and memorial to the founder of the movement, in addition to Girl Scout First Headquarters. The Andrew Low House is also associated with Juliette.
Most kids love the Pirates’ House restaurant with its creaky floors loaded with historic kitsch, Treasure Island memorabilia, and ghost stories. Talking of haunted houses, older children will enjoy Savannah’s many ghost tours.
Just outside the city, the Oatland Island Wildlife Center, 711 Sandtown Rd. (tel. 912/395-1212; www.oatlandisland.org), open daily 10am to 5pm is a great place to let off steam and see gray wolves, armadillos, cougars, snakes, bobcats, and various birds of prey in a natural setting. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children 4 to 17, and free for kids 3 and under. For day-trips further afield, including Tybee Island.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.