1
Arcata Community Forest
Managed by Arcata Recreation Division
683 acres15 mi of trail
Arcata Ridge TrailFickle Hill Grade3.5Spruce City TrailVista Trail
Dogs on leashMapped in OpenStreetMap
Outdoors · Arcata
Arcata, CA parks, trails & bike paths
About 35% of Arcata is conserved land, roughly 2,549 acres. There are about 33 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Arcata Community Forest (15 mi), Arcata Community Forest - Sunny Brae Tract (4.1 mi), and Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary (4 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Arcata, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Arcata outdoors
Conserved land
35%
2,549 of 7,231 acres
Trails
33 mi
2.9 mi per sq mi · 28 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
20
137 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
20.2 mi
14.1 mi lanes · 5.4 mi off-road paths
Conserved land is a share of the whole town area. Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number or a place below to zoom in© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Parks & preserves with trails
Ranked by mapped trail miles. Directions go to the nearest marked trailhead or public parking.
2
Arcata Community Forest - Sunny Brae Tract
Managed by Arcata Recreation Division
335 acres4.1 mi of trail
Beith Creek Loop TrailArcata Ridge TrailPanorama Court Connector
Dogs on leashMapped in OpenStreetMap
DirectionsTo the trail sign
3
Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary
Nature preserve
265 acres4 mi of trail
Dogs on leashMapped in OpenStreetMap
DirectionsTo the parking lot
4
Carlson Park
Managed by Arcata Recreation Division
19 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
5
Redwood Park
Managed by Arcata Recreation Division
24 acres0.7 mi of trail
Redwood Park TrailNature Trail Loop
Dogs on leashMapped in OpenStreetMap
DirectionsTo the parking lot
6
Arcata Community Park & Sports Complex
Park
26 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
7
Shay Park
Managed by Arcata Recreation Division
6 acres0.4 mi of trail
Shay Park to Foster Avenue spur
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
All 20 parks & preserves
- Aldergrove Marsh22 ac · 0.1 mi trail · Directions
- Sunny Brae Park4 ac · 0.1 mi trail
- Mad River Slough Wildlife Area24 ac
- Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge18 ac
- Valley West Park4 ac
- Larson Park2 ac · Directions
- Windsong Park2 ac · Directions
- Westwood Manor Park2 ac · Directions
- Chevret-Vaissade Park1 ac
- Stewart Park1 ac · Directions
- Arcata Plaza1 ac · Directions
- Janes Creek Meadows Park1 ac
- D Street Linear Park1 ac · Directions
Who protects the land
2,549 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 32 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. Public access isn't recorded for 1 of 39 parcels. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes14.1 mi
- Off-road bike paths5.4 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.7 mi
Courts & fields
- Basketball21
- Baseball11
- Tennis6
- Soccer5
- Skate park2
- Football2
- Pickleball1
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Next door
Arcata and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arcata | 35.3% | 32.8 mi | 20 |
| McKinleyville | 10.7% | 23.0 mi | 11 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Arcata's trails yet. Muddy, icy, a bridge out, where to park: a quick post helps the next person.
Sources: trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). Measured against the Census town boundary.
How we measure
"Trails" are OpenStreetMap paths, bridleways, public tracks and unpaved footways, plus footways inside a park or preserve or on a named trail route. Sidewalks are left out. Areas are counted on a 25.6-meter grid, so overlapping parcels count once. "Conserved" includes conservation easements, which protect land from development but are usually private property. Trailheads are the nearest marked trailhead, public parking lot or information board within about 150 meters of a preserve. Dog rules come from OpenStreetMap when someone has tagged them; otherwise we show what's typical for the land manager, or say the rules aren't recorded.