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Healthy Forests Success Story

Coast to Crest and Coast to Caves Trailway
Del Norte Resource Advisory Committee Legacy Project
2007

The "Coast to Crest and Coast to Caves Trailway" (Trailway) is a vision of the Del Norte County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC), in conjunction with the Redwood Economic Development Institute (REDI), to establish a pre-eminent recreational Trailway providing public access along a safe, maintained route that highlights the scenic beauty and natural assets of the Pacific Northwest. The Trailway will include two major trails: the Coast to Crest Trail and the Coast to Caves Trail. Both trails will originate on the California coast in Crescent City, Del Norte County. As envisioned, the Coast to Crest Trail will extend to Harrington Mountain, located on the crest of the Coast Ranges in Siskiyou County, California. The Coast to Caves Trail will extend to Oregon Caves National Monument (OCNM) in Josephine County, Oregon.

In tandem, these two trails make up the Trailway, which is intended to resurrect historic linkages between the Crescent City harbor and the Oregon mining country and the Klamath/Trinity mining country. The Coast to Crest and Coast to Caves Trailway will offer a "must experience" recreational opportunity for all levels of hikers, walkers, cyclists, equestrians, and nature enthusiasts. The setting is a world heritage site with the potential to be a world class destination. The Trailway has the elements to become a regional trail asset that will attract hikers and mountain bicyclists to Del Norte County from all around California, Oregon, the nation, as well as the world.

This has been a multi-year project. Year one activities were accomplished through work on-the-ground collecting data on trail condition, as well as historical records research at the Del Norte County Historical Society and other information repositories. In year two, an assessment of the trails reconstruction's feasibility, as well as an estimation of the costs required to perform the reconstruction was prepared. Current activities include analysis and design of the reconstruction of 7.23 miles of trail, followed by reconstruction of the trail system, interpretive signage, and advertisement of the trails.

The Coast to Crest Trail is a collaborative project between the Six Rivers National Forest and the following partners:

  • The Del Norte Resource Advisory Committee (RAC): the RAC is a federally chartered committee that funds natural resource-related projects in Del Norte County. The RAC provided $57,000 for the Coast to Crest Feasibility Study and committed $50,000 for project National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) compliance.
  • Redwood National and State Parks: a large portion of the proposed trail system is located in the Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP).
  • Del Norte County: the County has completed planning for the Hobbs Wall Trail, which extends from Crescent City to RNSP, and has programmed funding to construct portions of the trail in 2006 and 2007.
  • Rose Foundation: the Rose Foundation is a community-based nonprofit focusing on sustainable economic development through local self-reliance, sustainable resource management, and social equity. The Rose Foundation received an $846,000 grant from the State of California -Resource Agency, California River Parkways Program to reconstruct the four trail segments on the Smith River National Recreation Area of the Six Rivers National Forest.