Currently a work in progress, when completed the Humboldt Bay Trail will be a 13-mile long network of paved paths connecting communities around Humboldt Bay. It will provide safe access for bicyclists, pedestrians and equestrians, and is expected to improve traffic flow along the Hwy 101 corridor. It will connect central Arcata to the southern end of Eureka, and be part of the California Coastal Trail, itself another work in progress.
The cities of Arcata and Eureka have already built their sections. The Arcata extension of the trail is about three miles long. It runs from Samoa Blvd. just West of Arcata, through the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary, and continues south to below the Bayside Cutoff along Humboldt Bay.
The Eureka section is called the Eureka Waterfront Trail. It begins at Elk River Parkway south of town and runs along the Bay behind the Bayshore Mall, past the fishing pier at the foot of Del Norte Street, up through the marina and downtown boardwalk and along the south shore of Humboldt Bay north of Hwy 255 and the south side of the Eureka Slough.
The connecting leg, a 4.2-mile section along the bay and 101 Highway Corridor, will improve bicycle-commuting between Eureka and Arcata. In 2022, the County plans to begin construction of the “Humboldt Bay Trail South,” which spans from the Eureka Slough (near Target) to the Bayside Cutoff, where it will join with the already-existing Humboldt Bay North Trail.
MORE INFO: Humboldt County Dept. of Public Works, 707-445-7652, HumboldtGov.org/1923/Humboldt-Bay-Trail
