Eureka, CA

At Sequoia Park Zoo, ramps, platforms, and suspension bridges carry the Redwood Sky Walk as high as 100 feet above a mixed-growth redwood forest. Founded in 1907 and operated by the city, it is California's oldest zoo; its six acres hold more than 150 animals representing about 50 species. The city is the Humboldt County seat and the largest coastal city between San Francisco and Portland. Its population was 26,512 in 2020. A deepwater port and commercial fishing remain part of the bayfront economy, while government, health care, trade, and arts institutions serve the wider North Coast. Humboldt Bay is within the traditional homeland of the Wiyot people, and the Clarke Historical Museum in Old Town preserves an extensive collection of regional Indigenous basketry. The 6.3-mile Eureka Waterfront Trail gives the bay a continuous role in daily recreation and transportation.

ATTRNick / CC BY 2.0

Its route joins the Hikshari' Trail, the Del Norte Street fishing pier, the marina, downtown boardwalk, and northern waterfront; people use it for walking, cycling, running, birding, paddling access, and picnics. Interpretive signs cover Wiyot village life, marsh restoration, Humboldt Bay geology, wildlife, railroad history, and marine ecology. In 2026, the city began resurfacing and realigning a section near the Samoa Bridge as part of the Grace Marton Memorial Park project, which also adds a playground, picnic spaces, plantings, and game areas. Nearby Downtown and Old Town retain a Victorian-era commercial district and host Arts Alive on the first Saturday of each month, when businesses and galleries present local and regional artists.