Hikshari' Trail (Elk River Wildlife Sanctuary)

Interpretive panels line this trail, and they're the reason to slow down on it: marsh reconstruction, migrant and vagrant birds in the willow patches, Humboldt Bay geology, railroad history, Wiyot village life, the formation of the Elk River sandspit, marine life, dune plant ecology. Walk it reading and it becomes a self-guided natural and cultural history route rather than a path along the water.

It opened to the public in 2012 and forms the southernmost segment of the Eureka Waterfront Trail, running from Elk River Parkway along the bay through the Elk River Wildlife Sanctuary to the foot of Truesdale Street, where Phase A takes over behind the Bayshore Mall. The City of Eureka publishes the length as 1.5 miles. Access California, an independent accessibility reviewer, measures it as a 2.7-mile out-and-back, which is roughly the same thing walked both ways.

The name is Wiyot. No official source publishes a translation or an explanation of it: not the City, not the County, not State Parks. Access California records only that it's named for the Wiyot place name. The City's own page confirms the trail carries interpretive signage on Wiyot village life without addressing the name itself.

It's flat. Access California records about seven feet of elevation change across the whole route, on a hard paved surface typically four feet wide or more, with a smooth crossing over the railroad track. Van-accessible parking sits at all three lots — Truesdale Street at the north end, Hilfiker Lane in the middle, the Herrick Avenue Park and Ride at the south. There's an all-gender restroom built to ADA standards, and accessible picnic tables at the northern and Hilfiker trailheads. None of that appears on any City of Eureka page.

The City calls it an ideal location for bird watching, and lists hiking, biking, running, paddling and picnicking among its uses. Benches are frequent.