San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail
Updated March 7th, 2013
The State Coastal Conservancy is leading the implementation of the San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail (Water Trail), a new regional access project, in close collaboration with the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), and the Department of Boating and Waterways (Cal Boating.) The Water Trail is a growing network of access sites (or “trailheads”) that will help people using non-motorized, small boats or other beachable sailcraft, such as kayaks, canoes, dragon boats, stand up paddle and windsurf boards, to safely enjoy single and multiple-day trips around San Francisco Bay. This regional trail has the potential to enhance Bay Area communities’ connections to the Bay and create new linkages to existing shoreline open space and other regional trails, such as the Bay Trail. Site owners and managers join the Water Trail on a voluntary basis. The Water Trail does not own or manage any sites.
Water Trail staff (Conservancy and ABAG) are currently working on an Accessibility Plan to ensure that the Water Trail program, as a whole, is accessible to persons with disabilities. When complete (2013), the Accessibility Plan will be posted on this website. Site owners may find the newly published 2010 ADA Standards Excerpts for Boating Facilities Booklet (Cal Boating 2013) to be quite helpful. Site owners should also be aware that California accessibility laws are sometimes more stringent than the federal (ADA) laws.
Water Trail Grant Program
The Water Trail program is now accepting grant applications from eligible public agencies and non-profit organizations for Water Trail site enhancement projects. Using funds authorized by the Conservancy for this purpose, Water Trail staff at ABAG are administering the grants. You will find details within the application package, available for download here or on the new Water Trail Website at http://sfbaywatertrail.org.
Public Meetings
Meetings at which trailhead designation decisions are made are open to the public and are held at the Coastal Conservancy at 1330 Broadway, 11th Floor Conference Room, Oakland, CA. Agendas are posted on this page and at http://sfbaywatertrail.org in advance of each meeting. Water Trail implementation meetings in 2013 are scheduled for March 22, June 28, September 27, and December 13.
You may download past Public Meeting Agendas and Summaries (below), Designation Process FAQs, Project Implementation Charter, and the Education, Outreach, and Stewardship Program.
Water Trail Implementation Meeting Agendas and Summaries
Meeting Agendas:
Summaries:
Water Trail Sub-Committee Meetings
Meeting Agendas:
Summaries:
Planning and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
The final draft San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail Plan (Water Trail Plan) for the Water Trail (WT) was completed by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) in 2007 in cooperation with the Conservancy and other public agencies and organizations. The Conservancy released a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) on the WT Plan for public review in the summer of 2008. That 2008 DEIR was revised for clarity and to add a newly required section on the evaluation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions potentially associated with implementation of the project. The resulting 2010 Draft Revised Environmental Impact Report (DREIR) was circulated for public review August 3, 2010 – September 21, 2010. The San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) was certified by the Coastal Conservancy on March 17, 2011 at its scheduled public hearing.
For more information about the Water Trail project, contact Ann Buell, Project Manager, at (510) 286-0752 or abuell@scc.ca.gov, or visit BCDC’s website , where background information on the planning phase, including meeting summaries and planning documents may be found.
