Eureka Discovery
Walks |
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Dec. 27th WALK is CANCELLED due to last minute family
& holiday schedule conflicts
I apologize for the inconvenience
The Balloon Track
Re-scheduled for Saturday, January
24,
2008 at 9:30 am
Meet at the Compass at the foot of F street
on the Eureka Boardwalk for a Discovery Walk around the Balloon Track
and an "on the ground" view of the site of the future Marina Center
development. Discovery Walks are for enjoyment,
information, education, with no social or political agenda. NOTE:
Handicapped access is not guaranteed, some sections of this walk have
no sidewalks, and may have excessive traffic and/or noise.
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HELD
EVERY FOURTH SATURDAY 9:30am, All
Discovery Walks are FREE and OPEN
to the public. We
meet at 9:30am,
unless otherwise noted, and typically take one and a half to two hours.
This early start to your day
still gives you plenty of time to do other things. Children should be
accompanied by an adult, and strollers are recommended for small
children.
Wheelchair-enabled welcome; call or email if you have any concerns
about the
route. City ordinance requires dogs must be
on leash. See below for a list
of previous walks, pictures of the walkers, and
announcements of future walks. Get to know your city - Discover Eureka!
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Jump to walk
descriptions for previous walks:
A Street by Any Other Name ...
Eureka's
"Lost" Freeway
The Unknown Waterfront
O Street Circle and Eureka High School
Neighborhood
Eureka's Famous "Painted Ladies"
Eureka (or PALCO) marsh tour with
Councilmember Jeff Leonard
Henderson Center - History &
Memories
A (4th Ward) Walk in the Park with
Councilmember Chris
Kerrigan
Eureka Visitor's Map "Blue Line" scenic route
Clark Addition (1st Ward) with
Councilmember Mary Beth Wolford
Plant Identification Walk
Highland Park
& Fort Humboldt in the 5th Ward
2nd Ward Walk with
Councilmember Virginia Bass-Jackson
Eureka History on F Street
Architectural
Styles Walk
Art &
Murals Walk
Waterfront
Walk
Rest
of the
Waterfront
Sequoia Park
Fitness Walk
Elk
River Wildlife
Sanctuary
Walk
Bird Count
Walk in Cooper Gulch
Mileage,
as available, indicated in
parentheses
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Eureka's "Lost"
Freeway(loop,
approx. 3.5-4 miles)
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this walk
follows the route through
Eureka that would have been a FREEWAY had it not been declined by the
City Council in 1999. We saw some classic examples of humble little
"CalTrans Houses," some stunning and irreplaceable examples of historic
architecture, and enjoyed a walk through a peaceful, yet close in-town
neighborhood that would have been split by a wide river of cars.
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Click here for a short text document
describing the walk and stops along the way.
The
historic Annie
B. Ryan house, home of the future Whimsy Garden, marks the approximate
half-way point on this walk. The
restoration of the house is a project for the College of the
Redwoods' "Historic Preservation and Restoration Technology"
program. Click
here for more information about the program at CR.
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A Street by any other Name ...
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We discovered
streets that were originally known by different names. You won't find
Whipple, Murray, Brett, Pratt, Porter, or Pacific streets on any
current map of Eureka, but we found evidence of these streets right
under our feet. Click
here for a short text document with walk directions and descriptions.
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Eureka street names that no longer exist are discovered.
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The Unknown Waterfront (approx. 2.5 miles,
out and back)
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Starting at the
Adorni Center and heading north towards Target and the 101 bridge,
Discovery Walkers tried to stay along the bay waterfront but learned of
the many obstacles to walkers who want to do that, thus the name, the
"Unknown Waterfront." However, we enjoyed many wonderful views and
great weather. This is a great walk.
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O
Street Circle and Eureka High School Neighborhood (1.75 miles)
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| Discovery
walkers meet at the corner of F
and Del Norte Streets by the 1st United Methodist Church to
discover
the O Street and Eureka High School Neighborhood. Click here for a short text document
describing the route |
  
Click
here or on the pictures for larger images and description of walk route.
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Eureka's Famous "Painted Ladies" - the
Victorians of Hillsdale
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These "painted
ladies" are fun to look at and there are many stories in their history.
The pictures
really don't do justice to the vivid colors of these houses. Click here
for a Word document providing directions for the tour.
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Eureka (or PALCO) Marsh Tour
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Discovery Walkers meet at the Marsh parking
area at the far
north end of the Bayshore Mall parking lot for a tour of the marsh with
Councilmember Jeff Leonard. We enjoyed the views and the
wildlife, and learned about the planned improvements to the marsh, and
the Waterfront Drive Extension.
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Henderson Center - History & Memories
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Discovery walkers
meet in front
of the "Fill 'er up!" mural at the corner of Henderson & F streets.
We walked around and through the Henderson Center area and enjoyed
stories of the history and many changes.
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  Former home of Adolph
Schorr, the unofficial "Mayor of Henderson Center," and the "Fill
'er up!" mural on the Finnegan & Nason Auto Supply building.
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Walk in the Park Eureka's 4th
Ward
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Ward Walk in Sequoia
Park. We walked the park
trails, learned about the Adopt-a-Park program and the needs of the
park.
Sequoia Park is in the Fourth Ward. Don't know
where your
ward is? Click here
for a
ward map on the Eureka City web site.
Click here or on the
pictures for a page with a map of the park trails and pictures
from our walk. |
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Eureka Visitor's Map "Blue Line" Scenic Route
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This walk follows
the route marked on the Eureka Visitor's Map in blue as a scenic route,
originally designed for driving, many walkers dropped out before the
end- only two of the group made it all the way to Hillsdale! We saw
some great examples of "remodel" "remuddle" and "restoration" and
compatible vs. inappropriate (i.e., ugly!) apartment housing designs.
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Clark Addition tour, in Eureka's 1st Ward
with Mary Beth Wolford, Councilmember
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Tour of the Clark
Addition, which has been proposed as an Historic District. This
neighborhood is within Eureka's First Ward and the first walk was
hosted by
Councilmember Mary Beth Wolford. Click here, or on any image
to the right to jump to a page with tour route, with descriptions and
pictures of the houses.
Don't know
where your
ward is? Click here
for a
ward map on the Eureka City web site.
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Plant Walk, in Old Town and Down Town
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Donna
Wildearth, landscape designer, led us on a walk through Old Town and
Down Town, observing
and learning the characteristics of the many lovely plants. Click on
any of the images to right, for full size pictures.
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Highland Park & Fort Humboldt in Eureka's 5th
Ward
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| Starting at Highland Park a walk to discover
Eureka’s
Fifth Ward. From Highland Park, we walked up to Fort
Humboldt
and back, stopping along the way to admire views of Eureka's urban and
wild environments. Don't know where your
ward is? Click here
for a
ward map on the Eureka City web site. |
   
Click here or on any
picture to view
full size images.
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Ward
Walk, in Eureka's 2nd Ward
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Meet at Cooper Gulch
Park. taking a lovely 2
hour walk through the
central area of Ward 2, and along the gulch edges. Click here to see
the pictures at right in
full size.
Don't
know where your
ward is? Click here
for a
ward map on the Eureka City web site.
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Eureka History on F
Street (Waterfront
to Wabash and back, 3.5 miles; Wabash to Spruce and back, 2.5 miles)
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| The F
Street Ramble follows Eureka's longest residential street, starting at
the boardwalk on the waterfront, through Old Town, Downtown,
central Eureka's residential areas, and Henderson Center to Fairway
Drive, and then return downhill back to the Bay. An adventurous walker
could continue up Fairway, over 101 at the Elk river off ramp, and take
Pound Road to the Elk River Wildlife Sanctuary, exit the Sanctuary at
Truesdale, walk along the back of the Mall to the Wharfinger Center,
and continue along the waterfront back to the foot of F street on the
Boardwalk. Click here for a short
text document describing some of the buildings and sights along the
way. You can also take this walk in two sections, using Wabash or 14th
street as an approximate half way mark. |
The "Introduction to
Architectural
Styles" Walk
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This walk that features
a diverse variety of
architectural
styles. The route follows the Eureka
architectural tour illustrated in
Hal Jackson and Ted
Loring's book, "Eureka: a guide to the architecture and landscape," and
is a good introduction, for beginners, to the identification of
the varied architectural styles in the city. A page describing
the architectural styles and giving
directions for the tour is
available here.
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| Art
& Murals Walk |
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Art & Murals walk is a favorite and fun walk that has been revised
several times as new murals go up and some murals are removed, painted
over, or builded over. Profiles the many wonderful murals in
the Old Town and Downtown area. Click
here for a detailed walk
route and pictures of the many murals we enjoyed. |
 
   
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"REST
OF" THE WATERFRONT
(2.85 miles roundtrip) |
Called the "rest
of" the Waterfront because this is the big second leg of waterfront
walk development. Starting at the
public parking lot along Marina Way just south of the Wharfinger
Center walk along Waterfront Drive, to Railroad Avenue, through
the Eureka Marsh, along the back of the Mall to the
foot of Truesdale Street at the planned entrance park to the Eureka
Wildlife Sanctuary, then walk back. The Eureka Marsh and the Marsh
parking lot at the back of the Mall are prime birding spots. Click here to view a panorama picture of the
Elk River Wildlife Sanctuary vista at the foot of Truesdale Street.
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| WATERFONT
WALK (just under 3
miles, roundtrip) |
Walkers meet at the
Samoa
Boat
Ramp parking lot (under the Samoa Bridge, take "T" street) for this
scenic early morning walk. We walked to the
end of Waterfront Drive where it merges into Railroad Avenue, turned
around and came back. Who needs a map for this walk? No hills, a
winding path for interest, passing along the new Boardwalk, lots of
birdlife and seals on view. Public restroom available at the Boat Ramp.
This is always an easy and fun walk.
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Sequoia Park Fitness Walk
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Discovery
walkers met at Russell and W street. This
walk was designed to include two
gulches for uphill-and-down aerobic workout, several straight stretches
to get a good stride going, and a cool-down through beautiful Sequoia
Park. This 3.5-4 mile walk can be extended an extra mile by including a
circuit of
the double block around the water reservoir. Plenty of public,
unmetered parking, restrooms at the park, and water fountains make this
a popular walking area for Eureka residents and visitors alike. Click here for a page providing
route information.
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ELK
RIVER WILDLIFE SANCTUARY WALK |
| Discovery walkers
meet in
the undeveloped parking lot at the foot of Truesdale Street, next to
the Ray's supermarket near the Bayshore Mall. We walk the length of
the Bay coast, and along the near coast reaches of the Elk River up to
the railroad trestle bridge and the path to Pound Road. Proposed trail
and park improvements to the area were reviewed.
Visit
the Trails Trust of Humboldt Bay website's "Elk River Access
Project"
page for documents and pictures of the
planned improvements to this area. |
For more
pictures and information, see the Elk
River Access Project report at http://www.rcaa.org/elkriveraccess/index.shtml
(this picture was borrowed from that site) See articles from the
Times-Standard: A scenic respite
and the
Eureka Reporter: Environmental
study for Elk River plan now under way;
Trails
Trust has bay vision
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| BIRD
COUNT
WALK |
Eight people
accompanied Eureka Trails Committee member and expert birder Rob Hewitt
through the official and some of the volunteer or unofficial trails
through the gulch. Walkers were introduced to the methods used
for counting birds by sight and sound, and logging the results. Rob's
company, LBJ Enterprises, is regularly conducting counts in the gulch
to track changes in the bird population over time.
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No pictures available
for this event. Do you have a good picture of the Cooper gulch trails?
Send it to ruthful "at" northcoast.com and I will post it here!
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This page and all
content is copyright ©2005 Ruth Moon, Discovery Walks Coordinator.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License.
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