Half-mile Bodega Bay coast trail celebrated Thursday

County officials and other supporters of plans to develop a 3 1/2-mile bike and pedestrian coastal trail in Bodega Bay will celebrate completion of a half-mile segment of the pathway Thursday afternoon.

The .47-mile section known as the Coastal Prairie Trail was begun in September and connects the Bodega Bay Community Center on Highway 1 with the Bodega Bay Dunes State Park Campground father north. It includes an 8-foot-wide trail with 320 linear feet of boardwalk to carry traffic over sensitive wetlands and drainage ways. The project also included improvements to make the Children's Bell Tower memorial behind the community center more accessible.

The completed trail is the second of several phased stages expected to take more than a decade to create a safe and scenic route for use by cyclists and pedestrians that ultimately will take them into the village and along the harbor. It will also serve as part of the 1,200-mile California Coastal Trail.

Thursday's event runs from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the community center, 2255 Highway 1, and will include a group walk along the trail. Organizers recommend car-pooling, as parking is limited. Heavy rain will cancel the event.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that the dedication today for a section of the Bodega Bay Trail is to mark the completion of the second piece of the trail. A previous version of this story cited inaccurate information from the county Regional Parks Department to report that it was the first section of completed trail.