Hammond Trail

The Hammond Trail is 5.5 miles of old railroad grade running along the coast between the Mad River and Clam Beach. Hammond Lumber Company trains hauled redwood along this line to the Samoa mill until 1961; the 540-foot steel bridge you cross over the Mad River is the converted railroad bridge. It's a designated segment of the California Coastal Trail.

It is, on balance, the most useful multi-use trail in the county. Free, flat for most of its length, open to walking, cycling, horses and leashed dogs, with ocean views over the coastal bluffs and picnic tables and benches spaced along it.

The surface is mixed — mostly paved, with about half a mile of packed dirt and gravel near the Clam Beach end. Two sections are noticeably steep, one at Clam Beach and one by the Mad River Bridge. If you want the easiest and best-looking stretch, the 1.5 miles from Murray Road to School Road is the one: level, wide, and the ocean is right there.

Hiller Park in McKinleyville is the practical hub. It has the only accessible restroom on the whole trail, additional walking trails, and a dog park. Murray Road has a picnic area and designated accessible parking.

A couple of things worth planning around. The Clam Beach parking area is rutted dirt and turns to mud in wet weather, so in winter start from one of the paved trailheads instead. Widow White Creek is passable except after major storms. And the Mad River is nearly always too deep to ford — use the bridge.

The Widow White Interpretive Trail spur is hiker-only.