Bay Trail sign along trail in Fremont


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Bay Trail along Bay through BurlingameThe San Francisco Bay Trail is a proposed 400-mile network of trails around the shores of San Francisco Bay. The Bay Trail runs through the 9 counties that surround the Bay. Over 240 miles of the trail have been completed. (See here for Bay Trail General Facts.) The trails run along the bayshore, salt ponds, creeks and sloughs, and marshes. The trails are ideal for biking, walking, jogging, nature-watching, and other activities. The trails are mostly flat, so are suitable for people of all physical abilities. The trail surfaces range from gravel roads, dirt levees, to paved landscaped paths. The paved paths are suitable for roller skates, baby strollers, and wheelchairs.

The environments range from enormous lonely salt ponds, to popular developed parks, to narrow paths near busy streets and commercial areas. Wildlife abounds, particularly waterfowl. These are excellent places for bird-watching. Ducks, geese, herons, egrets, pelicans, gulls, marsh hawks, cormorants, and shorebirds abound in these areas. Two endangered species make their homes in the pickleweed marshes along the Bay: the clapper rail and the salt marsh harvest mouse.

Near the airports, the Bay Trail is an ideal area for watching manmade birds land and take off. Access to the Bay also makes the shorelines along the Bay Trail popular places for water sports such as fishing, swimming, and wind surfing. There are many public parks and recreational facilties along the trail, as well as homes, businesses, hotels, restaurants, and stores. The trail can be used for travelling to recreational spots, going to shop or eat, or even commuting to work. These activities will become even more possible once the entire Bay Trail is complete. With the recent public purchase of the Cargill salt ponds in the South Bay, even more trails are possible.

I've been biking around the southern Bay Trails. I've taken pictures of the scenery and made notes on the routes. My goal is to cover the Bay Trail from San Francisco International Airport, down the Peninsula, around the South Bay, and up the East Bay to Oakland International Airport. Some the links below are old ones from my Bay Area Biking pages.  Other pages have been developed for ABAG's official Bay Trail web site as "guided photo tours," with pictures and trail descriptions.

My hope is that these tours will result in increased awareness, appreciation, and support for the Bay Trail. Hopefully, as the Bay Trail brings more people in contact with the Bay, it will result in more support for preserving and restoring the Bay itself and its natural resources. Public and private support is needed to complete the Bay Trail. Once it is complete and unbroken, it will be one of the nations's truly great trail systems and will be a treasure for the Bay Area for years to come.

Here are the Bay Trail pages I've developed or am working on, starting from the Peninsula, looping down through the South Bay, and up the East Bay:

Peninsula Trails


Oyster Cove

South San Francisco to Brisbane: Oyster Cove to Sierra Point
South San Francisco: Point San Bruno to Oyster Point *
South San Francisco: SamTrans Peninsula to Point San Bruno *
San Mateo to Millbrae *
Coyote Point *
Foster City *
Redwood Shores *
Bair Island - future page
Redwood City
Menlo Park *
Dumbarton Bridge *
Ravenswood

South Bay Trails


Sunnyvale Baylands


Palo Alto Baylands *, 2009 update
Palo Alto Baylands: Matadero Creek to Byxbee Park *
Mountain View: Stevens Creek Trail *, 2009 update
Shoreline at Mountain View *, 2009 update
Also see Palo Alto Baylands to Shoreline at Mountain View (from my Bay Area Biking pages)
Sunnyvale Baylands Part 1: The Bay Trail and Hills *
Sunnyvale Baylands Part 2:  The Baylands Ponds *

Sunnyvale Baylands Part 3: Sunnyvale Baylands Park and Nearby Trails
Also see my Sunnyvale Baylands biking page (from my Bay Area Biking pages)
Alviso: Town and Slough *
Alviso: Mallard Slough & Environmental Education Center *
Also see my San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge -Alviso page (from my Bay Area Biking pages)
Guadalupe River Trail: Hwy 101 to Alviso

East Bay Trails


SF Bay Refuge HQ

Coyote Creek Lagoon - Fremont *
Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge - Fremont *
Also see San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge - Newark (from my Bay Area Biking pages)
Coyote Hills - Part 1: Apay Way to SF Bay, Part 2: Hills, Marshes, and Trails *.
Also see Coyote Hills Regional Park (from my Bay Area Biking pages.
Alameda Creek Trail (in 4 sections) - Southwest, Southeast, Northwest, Northeast *
Also see The Alameda Creek Regional Trail on my Bay Area Biking pages.
Hayward Shoreline *
San Leandro: San Lorenzo Creek to Marina Park *
San Leandro Marina - future page.
Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline *

* These pages are completed virtual tours now on the official Bay Trail Web Site.





Redwood Shores







Shoreline at Mountain View







Alviso Marina







Burlingame







Palo Alto Baylands







Hayward Shoreline







Foster City







Bay Farm Island, Alameda




Bay Trail Links:


For more links, see the guided photo tours in the Bay Trail Website.

Last Update: 2/24/09 by Ronald Horii