Eel River Trail Opens in Rio Dell, Connecting Community to Nature

Press release from Caltrans District 1:

Caltrans Deputy District 1 Director Maintenance and Traffic Tom Fitzgerald joins Rio Dell Mayor Debra Garnes for the ribbon-cutting ceremony

The City of Rio Dell, in partnership with Caltrans and the Clean California program has connected multiple communities with a new trail path along the bank of the Eel River. A ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted today at the Edwards trailhead celebrated the natural beauty of the waterway and unveiled a transformed portion of the riverfront.

Entrance to the new trail path along the Eel River in Rio Dell

This $2.3 million Clean California grant project installed a new quarter-mile paved nonmotorized path that runs along the west bank of the Eel River, linking previously unconnected city streets and providing the first designated public access point to the river. Interpretive monuments placed along the trail highlight the river’s ecological and cultural importance, offering an educational experience for residents and visitors. The City of Rio Dell was also awarded nearly $198,000 in Clean California grant funding for landscaping and recreation upgrades along Wildwood Avenue.

“This trail is more than just a path — it’s a way for our community to connect with the river, with nature, and with one another,” said Rio Dell Mayor Debra Garnes. “It transforms what was once an overgrown dumping site into a vibrant and educational corridor.”

“Clean California is about more than cleaning up trash—it restores pride and purpose in our shared public spaces,” said Caltrans District 1 Director Matthew Brady. “The Eel River Trail is a shining example of what is possible when state and local partners come together to invest in the health and vitality of our communities.”

Eagle Prairie Elementary School Students with their artwork at the new trail public access point in Rio Dell

Adding a special community touch, students and faculty from Eagle Prairie Elementary School played a key role throughout the project, serving as trail stewards and advocates for its success.

The ribbon-cutting event included representatives from the City of Rio Dell, Caltrans, Redwood Community Action Agency, the County of Humboldt, and local environmental and trails organizations.

The Eel River Trail is a testament to the power of partnerships and the potential for state investment to create safer, cleaner, and more accessible public spaces in communities like Rio Dell.

Tom Fitzgerald, Caltrans Deputy District 1 Director Maintenance and Traffic speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony in Rio Dell

Clean California has funded 319 projects statewide to revitalize and beautify underserved communities. Projects are improving public spaces, tribal lands, parks, neighborhoods, transit centers, walking paths, streets, roadsides, recreation fields, community gathering spots, and places of cultural importance or historical interest in underserved communities. Since July 2021, Caltrans’ Clean California initiative and its local partners have picked up more than 2.9 million cubic yards of litter – enough to cover nine lanes of Interstate 5 with trash from the Mexican border to Oregon. Caltrans also hosted more than 650 free dump days in communities throughout the state, resulting in the collection of 15,500-plus mattresses and 57,000 tires. The initiative has enlisted more than 72,000 community clean-up volunteers and created thousands of jobs, including positions for individuals who were formerly incarcerated, on probation, or experiencing housing insecurity.

For more information, visit CleanCA.com.