An “informal parking area” at Panther-Yellowbank Beach on Santa Cruz County’s North Coast will close for six months starting Monday to accommodate work on the North Coast Rail Trail.
Access for pedestrians and cars from Highway 1 will be shut down, and some alternative locations in the area will be limited. Traffic flow on Highway 1 in the area could also be affected.
The work on a 7.5-mile trail for bicycles and pedestrians, which started in June and won’t be complete until March 2026, will also include new paved parking lots and bathrooms at Panther-Yellowbank Beach and in Davenport, along with work on the parking lot at Bonny Doon Beach and pedestrian improvements on Highway 1 in Davenport.
Funded through state and federal grants, 2016’s Measure D, the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County and the California Coastal Conservancy, the project has been coordinated by the Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission. Santa Clara-based contractor Joseph J. Albanese Inc. is completing the work.
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