On March 19, 2026, the Great Redwood Trail Agency (GRTA) Board of Directors unanimously adopted the Great Redwood Trail Master Plan. Director John Haschak called the adoption of the Master Plan as an “historic moment in the process of creating the Great Redwood Trail.” Director Caryl Hart described the event as a culmination of a “long and wonderful process” and Board Chair Mary Sackett called it a “masterpiece of a master plan.”
The Great Redwood Trail is a 300+ mile rail-trail project connecting California’s San Francisco Bay and Humboldt Bay along the former Northwestern Pacific Railroad. The master plan will help guide the design and management of the 231 miles of the Great Redwood Trail in California’s Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt Counties. Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) is responsible for the trail from the Mendocino County border to the San Francisco Bay.
A comprehensive document, the master plan clocks in at 738 pages and 84 figures across seven chapters and eight appendices. To make it a bit more user friendly, you can view an online Story Map version of the plan (here) complete with videos, interactive maps, and graphics.
Reflection
As I reflect on the past three and a half years managing this process, I think the word that defines this master plan, for me, is resilience. Resilience is the ability to adapt to changing conditions and continue moving toward a goal. My hope is that the plan provides enough information to allow GRTA and its partners to adjust intelligently while maintaining focus on the long term vision.
I am grateful that so many professionals, agency partners, and hundreds of community voices shaped the final product. The project is not without contrary points of view. As much as we tried to make it future-proof and practical, no plan is perfect. There are some very real geological challenges and railroad infrastructure (bridges, trestles, and tunnels) that will need major investments to re-open. Many adjacent landowners also remain concerned about the impacts of the trail on their working rural lands. Members of some California Native American tribes feel not enough has been done in the plan to adequately safeguard sensitive cultural sites. The master plan cannot make every decision or solve every concern, but it sets up a framework, informed by best practices, to address these issues. Listening to those concerns, the plan includes 13 recommendations shaped directly from conversations with tribal members (see Table 3) and Chapter 5: Trail Management includes dozens of policy recommendations to minimize impacts on adjacent property. The GRTA remains outcome-oriented and committed to ongoing dialogue backed by action to build strong relationships, be a good neighbor, and generate social, ecological, and economic benefits for the communities it connects. As demonstration of this work, the GRTA has entered into formal Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians and the Blue Lake Rancheria, establishing a framework for collaboration, stewardship, and ongoing government-to-government partnership. The GRTA also entered into a MOU with the 13,000 acre Adanac Ranch to explore activities of mutual interest. These activities could include relocating the trail alignment, joint conservation activities, and development of a campground. All early steps in the life of the trail and its long-term stewardship.
While open to debate, I believe the master plan strikes a good balance between an ambitious vision and the very real political, economic, and geological constraints it must navigate. Through its branding, wayfinding strategy, and design guidelines, the plan remains committed to delivering a continuous experience for a wide range of trail users, while still responding appropriately to local context. For example, rather than abandoning the landslide-prone and remote Eel River Canyon, we reimagined it as a narrower, backcountry experience that can adapt to shifting terrain. In towns, the trail becomes wider and paved to accommodate higher demand, transportation needs, and recreation. Between towns, it may transition to crushed stone, reflecting a more rural setting. The guidelines also introduce multiple trailhead typologies, amenity considerations, and appropriate sizing/spacing.
I’m proud of how the plan frames trail-oriented development as a catalyst for economic vitality. Trail users don’t just pass through—they create demand for services, opening the door for new businesses and jobs to support them. Where existing experiences, services, or businesses exist, it is critical that trail users are aware of and able to access them. Trail-oriented developments range from short-term and low-cost improvements to long-term investments and the master plan lays out respective strategies along with defining GRTA’s role. I often found myself reflecting on a multi-day ride I took years ago along the Great Allegheny Passage. What stayed with me was the seamlessness of the experience across 150 miles, from renting a bike and arranging a shuttle service, to settling into small B&Bs and sharing meals in towns shaped by their industrial past. The trail town experience all felt connected, intentional, and welcoming.
Alongside these flexible design guidelines, the prioritization process blends an objective scoring methodology with practical realities. We started by segmenting the trail into 43 segments with logical endpoints. Segments are no longer than 12 miles and the average length is around 5 miles. We then scored segments based on potential benefits looking at existing access points, trip demand, continuity to existing or planned segments, and ecological restoration opportunities. We coupled that with scores based on feasibility of developing that segment based on state of legacy infrastructure, natural features, planning status, and railbanking status. Those objective scores were a good starting point, but no trail is built in isolation, so we also look at project readiness with significant weight given to segments with strong local partners and community support. The process offers a clear snapshot of current opportunities, but remains flexible enough to respond to new partnerships as they emerge. There are seemingly endless ways to structure a prioritization process. Where we ended up took multiple iterations to find our way to an intuitive, defensible, and flexible result.
While not as visually exciting, Chapter 5: Trail Management, consumed the greatest time and energy to produce. We included six recommendations on the governance structure for the GRTA, 15 recommendations for operating policies, and 12 maintenance recommendations. Some of the topics covered in this chapter include:
- staffing and volunteer management
- risk management
- emergency response coordination
- wildfire protocol
- privacy/fencing
- people experiencing houselessness
- community and neighbor relations
- grazing/ranch concerns
- overnight camping permit system
While few are unique to the Great Redwood Trail, the recommendations in the master plan respond directly to conversations we had with the public and over 70 stakeholder organizations. Each topic has a discussion of the issue and detailed recommendation. We also included as many relevant case studies as we could find to share best practices. Finally, we collaborated closely with the client to make sure each recommendation was tailored for the GRTA.
There are precedents in trail design, funding, and long term stewardship that point the way forward for the Great Redwood Trail, though few exist within landscapes as dramatic and diverse. It’s easy to imagine (though still years off) the day when me and my family can travel its full length from Humboldt Bay to the Golden Gate Bridge, moving by bicycling, hiking, horseback riding, or by rafting, experiencing the richness of California’s north coast region in a continuous journey. What an adventure that will be!
