NWP — Humboldt Bay (Eureka to Arcata & Samoa)

CA · Eureka → Arcata

Where the redwood railroad met the sea.

Eureka and Humboldt Bay were the reason the Northwestern Pacific was built. The bay's mills shipped redwood lumber worldwide, and a railroad connection south to San Francisco was the dream for decades before the NWP finally arrived in 1914.

Rails ran along the bayfront through Eureka, north to Arcata, and across to the Samoa peninsula. Samoa's giant lumber and pulp operations, and its famous cookhouse, fed the loggers. When the line south through the Eel River Canyon was shut down in 1998, this end was cut off from the rest of the rail network.

Much of the shoreline route is now being converted to the Humboldt Bay Trail, part of the statewide Great Redwood Trail. Some rail remains in the marshes and along the bay.

⚠️ Before you go: every railroad on this map is private property. A line that looks abandoned may still be owned by a railroad, used to store rail cars, or put back into service at any time — sometimes with no warning. Before going near any track, make sure it's truly abandoned (no recent use, rails not polished, no signals or cars stored on it) and that you're allowed to be there. Never assume a track is dead.

📷 Photos & stories from riders

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