Bike, Walk & Roll

Safe Routes to School (SR2S) is a nationwide movement to make it safer for children to walk and bicycle to school.  SR2S promotes walking and bicycling to school through targeted education, encouragement, enforcement, and engineering projects. SR2S programs are alive and active in Humboldt County.

In September 2021, HCAOG launched the online interactive bike map! The result is the most accurate bicycle map for Humboldt County as we had a dozen volunteers verify the data on the ground.

How to use the online bike map:

1. Navigate to https://hcaog.net/map from your mobile phone, tablet, or desktop internet browser. 

2. In the upper right, click the compass symbol to navigate to your location.

3. Use the toggles on the side-bar to explore different bike routes and points of interest. 

• Existing bike routes are shown in solid colors
• Connector routes are roads often used by cyclists, and are designated in dashed lines by their relative comfort level
• Icons show bicycle shops, bike rental locations, and tool stations

At this time, the tool does not work like Google Maps where you can get directions between two locations. There is no best way to get places by bicycle, as every person will have a different level of comfort. Using our map as a reference can help plan a route. Also note that Google Maps has some inaccurate bicycle route information.

2018 Humboldt Bay Area Bike Map (PDF)

Hundreds of these free bike maps were provided at local bike shops, book stores, hotels, and visitor centers. The current edition is running low, but you can still view and print the 2018 edition here.

This Humboldt Regional Bicycle Plan is foremost a regional plan, intended primarily to facilitate projects and programs that will help build a bikeway system that makes bicycling throughout Humboldt County a safe, convenient, and practical means of transportation for all residents and visitors. Priority infrastructure projects will link adjoining jurisdictions’ bicycle routes and thereby build a regional bicycle network. The Bike Plan’s recommended projects and programs have the potential to considerably increase the number of bicycle trips in Humboldt County.

HCAOG is teaming up with the Bike Month Coalition to sponsor another year of the Bike Challenge! All events are free and open to everyone in the County. Find a full list of Bike Month events and details on BikeMonthHumboldt.org

Join the Bike Challenge! Use the free Strava app to join the Bike Month Humboldt club and log your miles. Whether you want to get in better shape, save money and improve the environment by driving less, or simply have fun riding a bicycle- the bike challenge is a great way to track your rides and get motivated by others in the Humboldt biking community. We are also running the Bike Commuter Challenge through social media. Share a picture of your bike or bike ride using #bikemonthhumboldt23 and get entered to win prizes

The Bike-Friendly Business program is back! This popular initiative is a win-win-win. Get some fresh air and ride your bike to a participating local business, boost the local economy, AND get a free perk or discount! See the full list of this year's participating bike-friendly businesses and the perks offered. Look for the orange window sign and just show your bike, helmet, or a Bike Month Humboldt sticker to get the discount.  

The Bike Month Coalition is comprised of members representing Humboldt Bay Bicycle Communters Association, North Coast Co-Op, Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, DHHS Healthy Communities, Bike Party Humboldt, Caltrans District 1 Active Transportation, and other individual members.

Walkability and Complete Streets innovator and expert Dan Burden visited our neighborhoods to perform walk audits in Arcata, Eureka, Manila, and McKinleyville. (July 2023)

Local Coverage

Lost Coast Outpost Article "How Do We Make Our Communities More Walkable? Dan Burden Knows, and He’s Coming to Humboldt to Help Us Out" 

Times Standard Article "Humboldt County Walkability Audit Presentation Well-attended"

"The Econews Report: What’s a Walkable Community?" (30-min podcast; aired July 29, 2023) (transcript available here (Lost Coast Outpost))

Walk Audits & Presentations

The Humboldt Bay Trail is a network of paved paths connecting the communities around Humboldt Bay. (See map below.)  Efforts are actively underway to complete a continuous 14-mile, non-motorized trail from central Arcata to the southern end of Eureka, with future phases south to College of the Redwoods. This trail will increase road safety, provide a low-cost travel alternative, expand recreational opportunities, improve community livability, and promote active, healthy transportation. The trail is being constructed in phases by the cities of Eureka and Arcata, and Humboldt County, with support from Caltrans, the Great Redwood Trail Agency (formerly North Coast Railroad Authority), California Coastal Conservancy, and many other entities. 

Construction on the four miles of the “Humboldt Bay Trail South” Project, which extends from the Target store near Eureka Slough north to the Bracut Industrial Park near Bayside Cutoff, begins in May 2023! That's Bike Month--how fitting!  For additional information, visit http://www.humboldtgov.org/1923/Humboldt-Bay-Trail

The County of Humboldt has secured grant funds for preliminary trail planning for the envisioned continuation of the Humboldt Bay Trail from Eureka south to College of the Redwoods. Planning is slated for May/June to December 2023.  (See previous planning work: Eureka-Scotia Trail Corridor Assessment(2016).)

HCAOG has prepared two documents to facilitate quality bicycle parking in Humboldt: "Countywide Bicycle Parking Guidelines: Recommended Policies & Requirements" and "Bike Parking Sourcebook: Sample Policies, Municipal Codes, & Programs."