The trail that opened at Lee Road and Harkins Slough Road last month is half a mile long. The plan behind it covers 33 miles. In between are an unfunded bridge over Struve Slough, a 500-acre farm that has not opened to the public yet, and a regional rail trail whose South County segments are only now entering environmental review. Those three pieces decide whether this half mile stays a short walk or becomes part of the connected South County network the plan describes.
Where the Half Mile Starts and Stops
Phase one of the Lee Road Trail runs between Pajaro Valley High School and the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County's Watsonville Slough Farm. The Pajaronian reported that about 45 people came to the ribbon-cutting on Oct. 24 at the corner of Lee Road and Harkins Slough Road, where the trail begins.
The planting along the trail was done on purpose. Watsonville Wetlands Watch, which has helped the city with permitting and planning for years, put in all of the native shrubs along the route to attract beneficial insects. That matters on a path that runs straight toward working farmland.
From the far end, the trail meets the northeast corner of the Watsonville Slough Farm property. For now that corner is where the trail stops. Once the farm opens, it becomes a doorway.
Fourteen Years From a Line on a Map
The Lee Road Trail first appeared in 2012, in the Watsonville City Council's Trails and Bicycles Master Plan. It took until 2018, when the California State Coastal Conservancy put up funding, for the city to start preliminary design and permitting on phase one.
In 2019 the Land Trust began working with the city to line phase one up with its Community Harvest Trails Project. Because of that alignment, the Land Trust could contribute $770,000 in Proposition 68 funding. Prop 68 is the 2018 statewide bond that set aside $4 billion for parks, conservation and water infrastructure, with a focus on underserved areas.
That funding history explains why this project exists at all. Mark Bibbo, senior conservation project manager at the Land Trust, described the county-wide imbalance in the same Pajaronian story: "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."
Seen that way, the Lee Road Trail is a South County project from the start, aimed at the farm-and-slough edge of Watsonville. The city's partnership with Watsonville Wetlands Watch has been building in the same direction for a long time. "We've worked for nearly 20 years to care for the trail system and expand the trails network, and this project in particular is a great example of that partnership," Jonathan Pilch, the group's executive director, told the Pajaronian.
The Next 3,300 Feet Need a Bridge
The city has three phases planned for the trail, and the one that just opened is the shortest:
- Phase one, open since Oct. 24. Half a mile from Pajaro Valley High School to the edge of Watsonville Slough Farm.
- Phase two, designed but not funded. Another 3,300 feet, including an 800-foot pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Struve Slough, with artwork created with community participation. Construction funding is still needed.
- Phase three, planned. It would pick up where phase two ends and link to existing city streets, the Watsonville Slough Trails, W. Beach Street and the future Coastal Rail Trail.
Phase two is the piece the whole plan depends on. An 800-foot crossing of Struve Slough is a real piece of infrastructure, and without it the new trail cannot reach the city's existing slough trails or the streets beyond them. Pilch put the scale in numbers when he spoke 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."
That puts today's city network at eight or nine miles, with a 33-mile regional network as the goal. The half mile that opened in October is the first new piece of the Lee Road Trail built toward that goal.
The Farm at the Other End
The other half of the plan sits on the far side of the trail. The Land Trust's Watsonville Slough Farm covers 500 acres. When it opens, it will add five miles of trails through the property, plus a trailhead, picnic shelters, gathering areas, community gardens, restrooms and a public parking lot.
According to the Pajaronian's Oct. 30 report, the Land Trust is close to breaking ground and expects to hold an initial ribbon-cutting next fall, which from this November means fall 2027. "There's so much more coming very soon to get excited about," Bibbo said.
Five miles of farm trails would add more than half of the city's current eight or nine miles in one step. That makes the farm, more than the half mile now open, the biggest near-term change to where Watsonville residents can walk. Janet Kreitzer, a Watsonville Wetlands Watch volunteer, summed up the project for the Pajaronian: "[This project] brings together what's good for the community, what's good for the students and restoring our wetlands."
The Coastal Rail Trail Runs on a Slower Clock
Phase three's last link is the Coastal Rail Trail, and that connection belongs to a separate agency on a separate timeline. The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission calls its 12-mile South County stretch, covering Segments 13 through 20 around Watsonville, a single project. The RTC's project page says that work is entering Project Approval and Environmental Clearance, expected to begin around fall 2026.
One piece of it already exists. The RTC says Segment 18 Phase I was completed and opened in summer 2021. It is a different trail from the city's Lee Road Trail.
The RTC's long-range plan lists Segment 18 Phase 2 from the Watsonville Slough Trailhead to Walker Street, and Phase 3 from Lee Road to Ohlone Parkway, with estimated spending years from 2026 to 2035.
Here is where each piece stands this month:
| Piece | Who leads it | Status, November 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Road Trail, phase one | City of Watsonville | Open since Oct. 24 |
| Lee Road Trail, phase two and Struve Slough bridge | City of Watsonville | Designed; needs construction funding |
| Lee Road Trail, phase three | City of Watsonville | Planned link to slough trails, W. Beach Street and Coastal Rail Trail |
| Watsonville Slough Farm, five miles of trails | Land Trust of Santa Cruz County | Initial ribbon-cutting expected fall 2027 |
| Coastal Rail Trail Segment 18 Phase I | Regional Transportation Commission | Open since summer 2021 |
| Coastal Rail Trail Segments 13–20 | Regional Transportation Commission | Entering environmental clearance around fall 2026 |
Where to Walk the Sloughs This Winter
While the bigger plan waits on funding and construction, the eight or nine miles that already exist are at their best in winter. The easiest way in is the Upper Struve Slough trailhead at 1810 Main St. It sits at the bottom of the parking lot behind Body Zone in the Nob Hill lot and leads onto a paved trail system. Watsonville Wetlands Watch describes the trailhead as wheelchair accessible.
For the rest of the system, Wetlands Watch's visiting the sloughs page links to the city's Nature Center and Slough Trails page and to a downloadable trail map. That map shows Ramsay Park, the Nature Center, trail entrances and parking. It was drawn in 2017, so newer pieces like the Lee Road Trail are not on it. The same page names Harkins, Struve, West Struve and Watsonville Sloughs, and points out that most of the sloughs are privately owned and that access points can be hard to find, so the marked trailheads are the places to start.
Wetlands Watch's local bird checklist treats November through February as winter and lists wintering waterfowl that include:
- Tundra Swan
- Greater White-fronted Goose
- Snow Goose
- Green-winged Teal
- Northern Pintail
The checklist shows which birds use the sloughs in a given season. It doesn't promise any particular bird on any particular morning, which is part of why the same loop behind Nob Hill can be worth walking more than once.
The group's next public event isn't a walk. It is the 3rd annual Celebration of the Trees this Saturday, Nov. 14, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the YWCA, 340 East Beach Street. The free, family-friendly morning includes free fruit trees for Watsonville and Pajaro residents, tree care presentations, music and lunch, and Wetlands Watch asks people to RSVP so it can plan the meal.
If you live near Harkins Slough Road, the Struve Slough trails or anywhere along this growing network and want to talk about how your corner of Watsonville is changing, Genie Lawless is glad to help. She follows projects like this one closely, from the Struve Slough bridge to the Slough Farm opening, and can show you how they fit with what nearby homes are doing now. Get Your Home Valuation whenever you're ready, and Genie will put it in that local context.
