Rail Trail Project

Willits Rail Trail 

Project Description:

The Willits Rail Trail project is a 1.6 mile Class I separated bicycle and pedestrian pathway that will be built within the rail corridor in the City of Willits. Through previous engagement and planning, the City of Willits was successful in winning a $6-million Active Transportation grant from the State. While the design and implementation of the trail is currently underway, the City will be reaching out to the community throughout the process to continue to gather input on the design and programming details for the trail. Please join us in the process! Once completed, the Willits Rail Trail will be the latest segment in a larger state-wide effort to build the Great Redwood Trail. Learn more about the Great Redwood Trail here: https://greatredwoodtrailplan.org/ 

Upcoming Events:

Join us for a joint Willits Rail Trail and Great Redwood Trail IN-PERSON community workshop open house: 

Thursday March 23, 2023 6:00-8:00pm at the Willits Community Center, 111 East Commercial Street, Willits, CA 95490. This will be a joint meeting to provide input on the Willits Rail Train and learn about the larger Great Redwood Trail Master Plan.

RSVP here to let us know you are coming: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/530691541687

 Event Flyer

Past Events:

The first Willits Rail Trail Community Meeting was held on Thursday, March 10, 2022 via Zoom. During the meeting, we reviewed new updates on the project, had a round of Q&A, and talked through ideas for the trail design. Reach out to Dusty to watch the recording of the meeting.

Estimated Project Timeline:

• 2006 – Mendocino County Regional Bikeway Plan includes the Willits Rail Trail as a proposal
• 2012 – Mendocino County Rail-with-Trail Corridor Plan completed
• 2019 – ATP Grant Awarded!
• 2021 – ATP Project kick off
• 2021-2022 – Project Approvals and Environmental Document
• 2022-2023 – Project Design, Permitting, Right-of-Way
• 2021-2024 – Trail Construction 
   

 Project Contact: 

 Dusty Duley, Community Development Director, City of Willits, dduley@cityofwillits.org, (707)-459-7124