City officials and trail fans gather with the ceremonial giant scissors for Saturday’s ribbon cutting. | Image via Facebook.

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Excellent news for fans of non-motorized locomotion and redwood forest bathing: A Saturday ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the much-anticipated completion of the Arcata Ridge Trail. Huzzah!

The five-mile pathway now stretches from West End Road at the northern edge of the city, south through the Arcata Community Forest, across Fickle Hill Road and down through the Sunny Brae Forest Tract, terminating at Buttermilk Lane.

Here, have a map:

There is no longer a gap in the yellow-marked trail path. | Image via City of Arcata.

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The City of Arcata boasts that this new trail will allow hikers, bikers and equestrians to travel from the northern edge of city limits to the southern border without leaving redwood-covered hillsides. 

You can access at numerous locations, including Redwood Park (at the east ends of 11th and 14th Streets), Fickle Hill Road and California Street, near the Cal Poly Humboldt dorms. 

You can even bring your dogs along, provided that they’re securely leashed. 

In a Facebook post, the city notes that the newest segment of trail will be periodically closed through the rainy winter and spring months, allowing it time to dry out.

That said, get hiking! The redwood wonderland beckons.