The Great Redwood Trail is a proposed multi-use rail-to-trail project connecting

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and Humboldt bays in Northern California. Most of the trail will be built on the rail bed of the defunct

Northwestern Pacific Railroad The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional shortline railroad utilizing a stretch of the 271 mile mainline between Schellville and Windsor with freight and Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) commuter trains. Formerly, it was a reg ...

along the Eel River Canyon by the Great Redwood Trail Agency. The southern portion will be built by

Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) is a rail line and bicycle-pedestrian pathway project in Sonoma and Marin counties of the U.S. state of California. When completed, the entire system will serve a corridor between Cloverdale in north ...

(SMART) along their commuter rail line. The trail route is within 5 counties, 14 cities and the ancestral territory of many tribes. Some portions have already constructed by local jurisdictions with more being developed in cooperation with local governments. The Great Redwood Trail Agency was established in March 2022. The agency took over management of the railroad corridor from the

North Coast Railroad Authority The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional shortline railroad utilizing a stretch of the 271 mile mainline between Schellville and Windsor with freight and Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) commuter trains. Formerly, it was a regi ...

to begin preparing a master plan to develop the trail. The

California Coastal Conservancy The California State Coastal Conservancy (CSCC, SCC) is a non-regulatory state agency in California established in 1976 to enhance coastal resources and public access to the coast. The CSCC is a department of the California Natural Resources Agen ...

is providing staff for the agency since they have decades experience with the

California Coastal Trail The California Coastal Trail, or CCT, is an environmental project by the California Coastal Conservancy, an organization developed to enhance coastal resources and promote access to the shore in 2001. The trail is designed to connect the enti ...

. Situated in

Marin Marin (French) or Marín (Spanish "sailor") may refer to: People * Marin (name), including a list of persons with the given name or surname * MaRin, in-game name of professional South Korean ''League of Legends'' player Jang Gyeong-hwan (born 19 ...

, Sonoma, Mendocino,

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

, and Humboldt Counties, the route passes through the cities of

Novato Novato ( Spanish for "Novatus") is a city in Marin County, California, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. At the 2020 census, Novato had a population of 53,225. History What is now Novato was originally the site of several Coast Miwok ...

Petaluma Petaluma (Miwok: ''Péta Lúuma'') is a city in Sonoma County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census. Petaluma's name comes from the Miwok village nam ...

Rohnert Park Rohnert Park is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located approximately north of San Francisco. The population at the 2020 United States Census was 44,390. It is an early planned city and is the sister city of Hashimoto in ...

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

Healdsburg Healdsburg is a city located in Sonoma County, in California's Wine Country. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 11,254. Owing to its three most important wine-producing regions (the Russian River, Dry Creek, and Alexander Valle ...

, Cloverdale, Ukiah, Willits,

Fortuna Fortuna ( la, Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until at ...

Rio Dell Rio Dell (Spanish: ''Río Dell'', meaning "Dell River") is a city in Humboldt County, California, United States. It is located on the west bank of the Eel River north of Scotia at an elevation of 161 feet (49 m). The population was 3,363 at t ...

Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...

Arcata Arcata (; Wiyot: ''Goudi’ni''; Yurok: ''Oket'oh'') is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay (northern) portion of Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, Arcata's population was 18,857. Arcata was first ...

, and Blue Lake. The first completed segment of the trail was celebrated by State Senator Mike McGuire in Ukiah in February 2020. The city approved the construction of the final trail segment for the entire within the city in September 2021. A section in the city of Willits is being planned. The trail will pass through the Eel River Canyon Preserve which includes the Grand Canyon of the Wild and Scenic Eel River, home to dozens of endangered species and rare wildlife. The trail alignment through the Eel River will be challenging due to erosive geology and some failing infrastructure, including tunnels, bridges, and trestles. The project also has to deal with private property owners on either side of the trail right-of-way. Two or three years of public meetings will be held before the master plan is released.

In Sonoma and Marin Counties

References

{{reflist, refs= {{Cite report , title=Request For Services: Great Redwood Trail Master Plan And Community Outreach Program , url=https://scc.ca.gov/2022/03/16/request-for-services-great-redwood-trail-master-plan-and-community-outreach-program/ , access-date=2022-06-17 , publisher=California State Coastal Conservancy {{Cite report , date=May 5, 2022 , title=Great Redwood Trail {{! Staff Recommendation , url=https://scc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/sccbb/2022/2205/20220505Board07_Great_Redwood_Trail.pdf , publisher=Coastal Conservancy {{Cite report , date=July 2020 , title=Great Redwood Trail {{! Feasibility, Governance, and Railbanking Report , url=https://calsta.ca.gov/-/media/calsta-media/documents/appendix-d--cdpr-great-redwood-trail-feasibility-report508remediateda11y.pdf , publisher=California State Parks

In Sonoma and Marin Counties

References

External links