The Great Redwood Trail Draft Master Plan
The Great Redwood Trail (GRT) is a planned 307-mile long trail system that starts in Blue Lake and runs though Humboldt, Trinity, Mendocino, Sonoma, Marin, and San Francisco counties — all the way to San Francisco. One hundred miles of the trail is in Humboldt County, and about 11 miles of the trail in the southwest corner of Trinity County. To view the draft Master Plan, click here.
Much of the trail in southern Humboldt runs along the Eel River Canyon, on the location of the old (defunct) Northwest Pacific Railroad rails.
The Humboldt County section runs from a few miles southeast of Alderpoint all the way up to the end of the levee path, along the North Fork Mad River, mile or so south of Blue Lake.
In the Creamery District and Gateway District of Arcata, the Great Redwood Trail exists and will be expanded in the L Street corridor. The L Street corridor, with its discontinuous and ragged L “Street” has been designated by the Arcata City Council as a future linear park. For selected articles on the L Street corridor linear park, see here. For all articles, click here. Click here for arcatalinearpark.org and information on the more than 1,000-names petition that was presented to the City Council, supporting the L Street corridor linear park.
Here’s the northern Arcata segment of the Great Redwood Trail, from Shay Park at Alliance Road up to West End Road, headed toward Blue Lake. 
Here is the Manila-Arcata alternate route.
The Great Redwood Trail Draft Master Plan is here
The 586-page draft Master Plan for the Humboldt County, Trinity, and Mendocino County portions (dated April 2024) is now available to the public.
The draft plan can be seen on Arcata1.com here below. For useful instructions on how to view this draft plan on the Great Redwood Trail website, click / tap here.
Viewing the Great Redwood Trails website is delightful, and everyone interested in the Great Redwoods Trail should check it out. If you’re using a cell phone, Master Plan will likely appear fine. On a desktop, however, the pages will appear “side-by-side” and you’ll have to scroll horizontally to see it all. In that case, you can view the draft Master Plan here on Arcata1.com and see it all without horizontal scrolling.
Public comment on this draft plan is accepted until June 3, 2024. How to do this is here, below.
The Great Redwood Trail Master Plan newsletter, issue #4 from March 26, 2024, can be read here on Arcata1.com below or on the Great Redwood Trails website.
Workshops
The in-person public meetings will have refreshments.
Eureka – Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Join us any time between 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM
Sequoia Conference Center
901 Myrtle Ave, Eureka, CA 95501
RSVP here
Ukiah – Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Join us any time between 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM
Ukiah Valley Conference Center
200 South School St, Ukiah, CA 95482
RSVP here
Online Workshop – Tuesday, April 16, 2024
6:00-7:30 pm
RSVP to the Zoom Meeting here
To view the draft Master Plan on the Great Redwood Trail website
The draft plan can be seen on Arcata1.com here below.
Viewing the Great Redwood Trails website is delightful, and everyone interested in the Great Redwoods Trail should check it out. If you’re using a cell phone, Master Plan will likely appear fine. On a desktop, however, the pages will appear “side-by-side” and you’ll have to scroll horizontally to see it all. In that case, you can view the draft Master Plan here on Arcata1.com and see it all without horizontal scrolling.
On the Great Redwoods Trails website, there is a Table of Contents that will link you to the page of the document you want. Use the Table of Contents to find the page you want, then click/tap on the < icon to remove the Table of Contents. Click/Tap on the > icon to get the Table of Contents back.
The following section is taken from the website for the Great Redwood Trail.
Master Plan Overview
The Great Redwood Trail Master Plan will be a roadmap for planning, constructing, and managing the future Great Redwood Trail. The master plan will be informed by a robust Community Engagement Plan that will capture community desires, concerns and ideas to develop the Great Redwood Trail. Once complete, the master plan will serve as a guiding document to address issues including but not limited to trail user experience, trail design, operations and maintenance, habitat restoration, project priorities, funding, and management of the trail. The master plan covers Mendocino, Trinity and Humboldt counties. The Great Redwood Trail in Sonoma and Marin counties will be planned and constructed by SMART.
Vision for the Trail
The Great Redwood Trail (GRT) will be a world-class regional rail-trail system that connects remote places in northern California with the bustling San Francisco Bay Area and Humboldt Bay communities. The GRT will offer unique, memorable trail experiences for people who live nearby or visit from far away. The GRT will generate new trail-oriented development and economic opportunities. The trail will be designed and managed to enhance the surrounding natural environment, respect neighboring properties, and offer safe and equitable access for a wide range of users, including hikers, equestrians, cyclists, runners, wheelchair users, and others. The Great Redwood Trail Agency (GRTA) will work collaboratively with California Native American tribes, residents, landowners, businesses, community-based organizations, and government partners to solve problems and oversee this incredible trail network.
Public Draft Plan
For the past 18 months, the Great Redwood Trail Agency has been developing a Master Plan for the 231 miles of trail within Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt counties. We’ve gathered ideas and suggestions from California Native American tribes, adjacent landowners, trail enthusiasts, law enforcement professionals, local government partners, and hundreds of community members. We are now ready to share the Draft Master Plan for your review!
How can I view the Draft Master Plan?
You can review and comment on the Draft Master Plan using the Online Comment Tool below or download a PDF version by clicking here.
How can I provide comments?
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- Use the Online Comment Tool
- Send a message using the Contact Form
- Email [email protected]
- Leave a voicemail message at (707) 440-9445
How long do I have to provide comments?
The public comment period closes on June 3, 2024.
What comes after the comment review period?
The GRTA will consider all comments on the Draft Master Plan and may make revisions based on feedback before adopting the Master Plan in Summer 2025 (tentative). The GRTA is also starting a program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) process as part of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for the Master Plan. To learn more, see PEIR on the project website.
Great Redwood Trail Master Plan Newsletter
Coming Soon: Great Redwood Trail Draft Master Plan!
For the past 18 months, the Great Redwood Trail Agency has been developing a Master Plan for the 231 miles of trail within Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt counties. We have gathered ideas and suggestions from hundreds of community members and are now ready to share the Draft Master Plan!
The Great Redwood Trail (GRT) Draft Master Plan includes the following chapters and appendices:
Chapter 1: Introduction – We start with a vision for the GRT and principles to guide future development, as well as a brief history of the corridor.
Chapter 2: Tribal & Community Engagement – Next, we summarize input from California Native American tribes, stakeholders, community-based organizations, and the general public. We also point out where in the Master Plan key concerns and ideas are addressed.
Chapter 3: Existing Conditions – Then, we document the existing conditions of the GRT corridor including the physical conditions (e.g. tunnels, bridges, trestles, landslides), existing and planned trail segments, and the land use and regulatory contexts.
Chapter 4: Trail Use & Design – This chapter provides information on anticipated trail user types and design solutions to meet their needs, including what amenities might be installed along the trail to improve the user experience. It also presents suggestions for trail-oriented economic development.
Chapter 5: Trail Operations & Management – This chapter offers guidance for the governance, operations, and maintenance of the GRT to ensure the trail segments are well maintained and operated. While some concerns can be addressed through design, others require careful management and collaboration with California Native American tribes, adjacent landowners, law enforcement, and first responders.
Chapter 6: Project Prioritization – This chapter provides a framework for building out the GRT over time and includes a list of prioritized trail segments. It also includes detailed maps to identify opportunities, constraints, and possible design solutions for future trail projects to consider.
Chapter 7: Implementation Strategy – This last chapter discusses the permitting process and requirements and potential funding strategies and sources.
Appendices – These provide more details on various Master Plan elements, including economic benefits, wayfinding and branding guidelines, and a fish habitat restoration assessment.
The GRT Draft Master Plan will be available for public comment starting on April 3, 2024, and closing on June 3, 2024. You can provide direct input on the Draft Master Plan by using our PDF commenting tool, which will allow you to leave comments through the document.
You can also provide input by attending an upcoming workshop, as described in the next section.
Upcoming Workshops
You can learn more about the GRT Draft Master Plan and share your feedback at an upcoming in-person or virtual community workshop (details below). The in-person workshops in Eureka and Ukiah will be open house style (come and go as you please), with multiple stations covering different aspects of the Draft Master Plan. At these stations, there will be project team staff and large-scale boards to help you learn about:
- Great Redwood Trail background, vision, and benefits
- Overview of key takeaways from California Native American tribal and community
engagement completed to dat - Trail design, including trail types, amenities, and wayfinding
- Detailed segment maps with opportunities and constraints
- Trail governance, operations, and maintenance recommendations
- Trail segment prioritization process and results
- Next steps, including GRT Master Plan implementation and the Program Environmental
Impact Report (PEIR) process (details below)
Refreshments will be provided to attendees at these upcoming in-person public meetings:
Eureka – Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Join us any time between 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM
Sequoia Conference Center
901 Myrtle Ave, Eureka, CA 95501
RSVP here
Ukiah – Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Join us any time between 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM
Ukiah Valley Conference Center
200 South School St, Ukiah, CA 95482
RSVP here
Online Workshop – Tuesday, April 16, 2024
6:00-7:30 pm
RSVP to the Zoom Meeting here
For more information, please visit the events calendar.
Engagement Summary
California Native American tribal and community input guided the project team to develop a GRT Draft Master Plan that prioritizes the needs of diverse trail users and stakeholders, helping to inform the project goals, trail elements, amenities, access point opportunities, policy considerations, and next steps. Additional and ongoing engagement with California Native American tribes, adjacent landowners, and the broader community will continue to be essential to future trail design phases, construction, and operations. The team connected with California Native American tribes, residents and stakeholders along the GRT corridor in many ways: through regional GRT Master Plan community outreach and engagement events, tabling at existing community events, targeted meetings with tribal leaders and stakeholder groups, surveys, and web-based input tools.
The Great Redwoods Trail draft plan in a PDF viewer
Two versions: For desktops or larger screens, and for cell-phones or smaller screens.
Note: The version currently on the Great Redwoods Trail website will attempt to show the document in a “side-by-side” view, with two pages displayed at once. This will be difficult to view.
This has been modified to display just 1 page. But in the process, the PDF’s table of contents was lost.
Both versions are included here. If you want to use the PDF’s table of contents, use the 2nd version. For easier viewing, use the upper version.
Instructions and Suggestions for viewing
- Use the – + buttons on the PDF viewer to reduce or enlarge what you see, especially for the diagrams. Sorry, pinching to expand doesn’t work.
- You can go directly to a Page by typing that number in the page number box and pressing Enter.
- The ↑ ↓ arrows will go up/down one page at a time. (Arrows may not be on cell-phone screens.)
- You can copy-and-paste from this PDF viewer.
- Search: Want to search for something? Use the
Search button. Or Control-F or Cmd-F on your browser. - Print a single page or range of pages. Or Download the document.
.
Desktop Viewing
1-page view, without the PDF table of contents.
2-page “side-by-side” view, and with the PDF table of contents.
Click on the “Book” icon to the left of the search magnifying glass icon and then click on the Table of Contents button (might have a green dot on it) or the Thumbnail button. If they aren’t showing up, click on the open-book icon on the line above.
Cell Phone viewing
- Cell Phone viewing: You may want to slide the screen slightly to the left. If needed, use – + buttons or enter 40% or 50% for a smaller view.