Watsonville's Newest Trail Is Only Half a Mile Long. It's the First Piece of a 33-Mile Plan.
Half a mile is all the Lee Road Trail amounts to today: a single stretch starting at the corner of Lee Road and Harkins Slough Road. The people who built it describe it as the first segment of a regional trail network meant to run 33 miles, connecting Watsonville's slough trails to a 500-acre farm, West Beach Street and eventually the Coastal Rail Trail. Its short length is beside the point. What matters is where it sits.
About 45 people came to the ribbon cutting on Oct. 24 at Lee Road and Harkins Slough Road, where phase one starts. The path runs between Pajaro Valley High School and Watsonville Slough Farm, the Land Trust Santa Cruz County property. According to the Land Trust's account of the opening, it gives people new places to walk and bike near Struve Slough. The Land Trust also installed new interpretive signs, and Watsonville Wetlands Watch put 500 native plants along the route. The Pajaronian reported that Wetlands Watch picked native shrubs that draw beneficial insects.
The ceremony also showed how many agencies have a hand in a half-mile path. According to the Land Trust, the group photo included City Manager Tamara Vides, four Watsonville councilmembers, County Supervisors Kim De Serpa and Felipe Hernandez, State Senator John Laird, and a representative for Congressman Jimmy Panetta.
The trail's history explains why the first piece is so short and why the next pieces depend on outside money. Here's the order of events as The Pajaronian laid it out:
Lining the city's trail up with the Land Trust's farm is what brought in the Proposition 68 money. Mark Bibbo, senior conservation project manager at the Land Trust, told The Pajaronian what the work is meant to fix: "The big thing about public access in Santa Cruz County is that we have some great state parks and trails, but it's all very focused on North County."
Anyone in Watsonville who has driven to Nisene Marks or up Highway 9 for a long walk will recognize that problem. The Lee Road Trail is the first built piece of a South County answer to it.
Phase two adds 3,300 feet of trail and an 800-foot pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Struve Slough, decorated with artwork made with community participation. It's in design, but construction funding still has to be found. Phase three would pick up where phase two ends and connect to city streets, the Watsonville Slough Trails, W. Beach Street and the future Coastal Rail Trail.
The network depends on that bridge. Without it, the half-mile ends near the slough. With it, the path starts reaching the trails the city already has. Jonathan Pilch, executive director of Watsonville Wetlands Watch, described the overall plan to The Pajaronian:
"Phase One is laying the foundation for expanding what is a small trail segment today and our now eight or nine miles of trails in the city to this regional trail network that's 33 miles. It's going to be a gem of the Monterey Bay."
His numbers put the opening in proportion. The city's existing trails cover roughly eight or nine miles, and the regional plan is about four times that. The Lee Road segment is the first step toward the bigger figure. Pilch also told the paper that Wetlands Watch has spent nearly 20 years caring for the trail system and working to expand it.
Phase one ends at the northeast corner of the Land Trust's 500-acre Watsonville Slough Farm. That's where the next big jump in walking distance will come from, and it doesn't depend on the bridge. The farm plans five miles of trails, plus picnic shelters, gathering areas, community gardens, restrooms and a public parking lot. The Land Trust says the Watsonville Slough Farm Community Harvest trails are scheduled to open to the public in fall 2027. Plans include views toward Monterey Bay, bilingual interpretive signs and a new barn for educational and community events.
According to The Pajaronian, the Land Trust is close to breaking ground on the farm. "There's so much more coming very soon to get excited about," Bibbo said. Until then, the farm trails are not open. This winter, the walkable section is the half-mile itself.
When the farm opens, that half-mile will connect to five miles of trail. Even before the bridge is funded, a walk starting at Lee Road and Harkins Slough Road will cover about eleven times the distance it does now.
The trail opened just as winter birding season starts on the sloughs. Watsonville Wetlands Watch's bird checklist for the sloughs and the Pajaro River Estuary counts November through February as winter. Its winter records include:
The Lee Road corner already worked as a viewing spot. Wetlands Watch's guide to visiting the sloughs lists Lee Road and Harkins Slough Road among the places to see Struve Slough, along with Pennsylvania Avenue and Green Valley Road, Main Street and Highway 1. It names Harkins Slough Road and Lee Road as places to see parts of West Struve Slough. The guide also notes that entering the Ecological Reserve requires permission, so stay on the public routes.
The city's Slough Trails FAQ covers the basics of using the trails:
To see how the new segment fits with the rest, the city's Watsonville Slough Trails map shows existing trails, entrances, trail parking, ADA routes, restrooms, the Nature Center, and the future trail sections the Lee Road phases are meant to fill in. Ramsay Park, Harkins Slough Road, West Beach Street and Lee Road are all labeled. The map was prepared in 2018. It still shows the planned gaps clearly, and phase one is the first of those to be built.
At Room Real Estate, we follow projects like the Lee Road Trail because they shape daily life in Watsonville well before the last phase opens. If you own a home near the sloughs and want to talk with someone who keeps up with what's changing nearby, send us a note and request a quote.
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