Community members gathered on Saturday, June 28th, to celebrate the ribbon-cutting of the newest addition to the Humboldt Bay Trail. This 4.25-mile expansion of the Great Redwood Trail runs along Humboldt Bay and connects the City of Arcata to the City of Eureka, providing a safer stand-alone path for pedestrians and cyclists.
Hundreds of excited community members and representatives from local government as well as trail project partner organizations filled the Adorni Center to recognize the Humboldt Bay Trail South Project, which began construction in June 2023.
“This is a big celebration that is now complete between Arcata and Eureka. [The Great Redwood Trail] is 15 miles, and it is an amazing way to experience the beauty of Humboldt Bay. It’s not just recreational; it is also an opportunity for community and another form of transportation,” said Carol Vander Meer, Project Coordinator for the Redwood Community Action Agency, the host of the gathering.
In addition to celebrating the completion of the Humboldt Bay Trail South, HAF+WRCF commemorates the 10th anniversary of the Humboldt Bay Trail Fund this year. Established in 2015 at HAF+WRCF to provide a mechanism for donors to assist in the continued development of the Humboldt Bay Trail, the fund supports trail maintenance and emergency repair, trail amenities, projects involving community volunteers, and cost-shares to state or federal grant funds for project development.
“The Humboldt Bay Trail Fund is really an important piece of how we maintain these trails into the future. Unless we have a plan for how we maintain them, we’re not going to be able to create anymore,” says Vander Meer.
The fund is governed by the Humboldt Bay Trail Committee, which is composed of three community representatives at large, one member from the Humboldt Bay Trails Council, and representatives from the City of Arcata, City of Eureka, and the Humboldt County Public Works Department.
The next phase of the project looks to extend the trail down to the College of the Redwoods. For an overview of the project as well as more information about the trail, visit: humboldtbaytrail.info
To support this project through a donation, visit hafoundation.org/HumboldtBayTrail
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Read through more highlights in the 2025 Summer/Fall Newsletter.