Del Rey Oaks' First FORTAG Stretch Is Almost Done. What's Open Along Canyon Del Rey This November?

The 1.5-mile Canyon Del Rey segment of the Fort Ord Regional Trail and Greenway is in its final weeks. Carlton Drive is open again. Access to Work Memorial Park is still restricted. Frog Pond Wetland Preserve is expected back in November. Construction started in August 2024, and the Transportation Agency for Monterey County expects to finish by December.

FORTAG is usually described as a 28-mile network linking Seaside, Marina, Del Rey Oaks and Monterey with CSUMB, Fort Ord National Monument and the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail. This first piece does something smaller and more useful for anyone who already lives in Del Rey Oaks. It ties the city's own parks together beneath Highway 218. Until now, Del Rey Park and Frog Pond were separated by the highway you drive every day.

The route, from the Safeway corner to Plumas Avenue

The segment starts at North Fremont Boulevard and Canyon Del Rey, where the City's construction notices refer to Laguna Grande Park on the western corner and Safeway on the southern corner. From there, here is the order you'll walk it once it's finished:

1. Fremont Boulevard and SR 218. Stamped concrete at both corners, new ramps on the Safeway corner, and a decomposed granite surface along the highway on the Safeway side.
2. Work Memorial Park and Del Rey Park. Work Memorial Park gets new benches and trash cans as part of the trail work.
3. Under SR 218. A new roadway bridge carries the cars, and people on foot or bike pass under it through a 10.5-foot-high passage.
4. The corner of Frog Pond. The trail comes out beside the wetland preserve.
5. Back up to SR 218 at Carlton Drive, then on to Plumas Avenue. The segment ends at Del Rey Woods Elementary School.

The undercrossing is the heart of the project. Once it opens, a walk that starts at the playgrounds in Del Rey Park can end at the observation deck at Frog Pond without crossing Canyon Del Rey at street level.

What's open, and what's still restricted

The corridor is reopening one piece at a time.

For now, Del Rey Park at 999 Angelus Way is the easiest piece of the corridor to use. It has open lawn, a dog park, basketball, volleyball and softball, plus restrooms and two big BBQ areas called Park West and Park East. The Butterfly Garden next door, near the tennis court and known for its painted planter boxes, stays off-limits until the City lifts the Work Memorial Park restrictions.

At the other end of the trail, Laguna Grande is a bigger place than its corner of the intersection suggests. A December 2025 Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District board report describes Laguna Grande Regional Park as 35 acres with a freshwater lake, picnic areas, playgrounds, trails, wetland habitat, a lake-loop trail and good birdwatching. With the new trail finished, Laguna Grande and Frog Pond, two wetland parks on either side of the Fremont intersection, become a single walk.

Frog Pond is the piece residents get back

Of everything that reopens this winter, Frog Pond has been missed the longest. The Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District describes it as a 17-acre urban wildlife refuge, with a trail running around a central wetland. Its wildlife list includes frogs, deer, hummingbirds, towhees, mallards and western fence lizards. Monterey County NOW has called it a small, leafy sanctuary around what's left of a seasonal pond.

The trails on the western parcel are simple. A local naturalist's guide describes a main loop around the pond, a cross-trail and a short dead-end branch, with an observation deck, benches and small footbridges along the way. The rules are short too:

• Hiking only
• Open from sunrise to sunset
• Dogs on leash, and owners clean up after them

The usual entrance is on Canyon Del Rey Road between General Jim Moore Boulevard and Highland Street, and the park district's rules page warns that parking is limited to the road shoulder. That limited parking is the everyday reason the undercrossing matters. Once the segment is finished, anyone who can park at Del Rey Park or walk in from Carlton Drive can reach Frog Pond on foot, no shoulder spot needed.

When it reopens matters too. The preserve is built around a seasonal pond, and a November reopening puts the trail back in use right as the wet season begins. The park district's page still showed the preserve closed until further notice heading into the month, so check that page before you head over.

Why "almost done" may last into 2027

The corridor is reopening while the work is still being checked. According to Monterey County NOW, TAMC Executive Director Todd Muck briefed the Del Rey Oaks City Council on Sept. 22. Council members raised concerns about the construction so far, including exposed rebar in walls, damage to the city's corporation yard and visible cracks in new concrete. Muck told the council those items are on a punch list the contractor has to finish before the job is done.

"We do have to get to the end and find out if we're all happy, and if we're not, we have to resolve it." Todd Muck, TAMC, as quoted by Monterey County NOW

TAMC outreach coordinator Theresa Wright told the same outlet that the construction contract stays in effect through February 2027 to cover any remaining requirements. She gave the Carlton Drive handrails as one example of a fix underway. The contract was awarded at $20.7 million, with $9.2 million from a grant and the other $11.5 million from Measure X, the county's transportation sales tax.

In practice, expect a few more short disruptions after the trail opens. The City has said Carlton Drive will need temporary short-term closures before the project is complete. Daytime work hours are 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Night work, when needed, runs 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., Sunday through Thursday. For the latest closures, use TAMC's Canyon Del Rey project page. It's also where you can sign up for project updates.

A breakfast stop along the trail, and a December date at Old Town Hall

The trail now has a coffee stop close by. Monterry Bagels & Donuts was open at 465 Canyon Del Rey Blvd by early September, in part of the former Stone Creek Kitchen space. Edible Monterey Bay's write-up lists donuts, bagels, sandwiches, coffee and boba. It sits in the Stone Creek Village storefronts on Canyon Del Rey, a short walk from Work Memorial Park and the Fremont corner.

The next community date on the corridor is at Del Rey Park itself. The City lists Santa's Workshop, sponsored by DROCAG, at Old Town Hall on Saturday, December 5, from noon to 2 p.m., with Santa photos, crafts and cookie decorating. If the segment wraps up by December as TAMC expects, it will be one of the first events where people can walk in on the new trail. Confirm the date and details on the City's event page before you go.

Where the trail goes after Del Rey Oaks

The Canyon Del Rey segment is the first phase of the full FORTAG route, and the next two phases are in Marina. TAMC is designing a California Avenue segment from Patton Parkway to Imjin Road, with construction set to start in 2027, and a Jerry Smith segment from Imjin Road to the Jerry Smith Trailhead, set to start in 2028. Until those are built, the Del Rey Oaks stretch is a loop for the city's own residents, running from the Safeway corner past three parks and a wetland to Plumas Avenue.

If you live near Canyon Del Rey and want to talk through how the new trail affects your street, your walk to the park or a future sale, Ben Ottmar is a lifelong Peninsula local and keeps up with projects like this one. Get in touch any time.