Ten years ago, Kurt Schwabe was walking his dog in Marin when he came across a sign for the San Francisco Bay Trail. So he went home and Googled it.
“I wanted a project, one that would mean something,” says Schwabe, a marketing manager in San Francisco who was unemployed at the time. “I had just finished reading Cheryl Strayed’s book ‘Wild,’ where she (wrote about doing) the whole Pacific Crest Trail. This seemed like something that was more manageable.”
Schwabe decided he would hike the Bay Trail. And he did — over the course of 30 consecutive days. He headed out early each morning to walk the shorelines of the San Francisco and San Pablo bays and returned home at night on public transportation to reduce his carbon footprint.
“I was always totally in the moment, not thinking about yesterday or tomorrow or even five minutes ahead,” he recalls. “I ended up noticing things I otherwise would have missed, like an owl and her owlet in a tree in Coyote Hills or a deer several yards down a steep, tree-studded hillside nestled in a thicket with her fawn. When I finished the trek, I was in a great space mentally.”
Schwabe is one of the rare few who can claim to have explored the near-entirety of the Bay Trail, which measures more than 350 miles from San Jose up to Marin and Napa down to the East Bay. Along the way, it skirts the waterline from Crockett and Rodeo to Emeryville, Fremont, Mountain View and more. Future adventurers will have a bit farther to explore. When it’s eventually completed, the trail will mirror the Proclaimers song and allow people to walk (or bike) 500 miles through nine counties, 47 cities, more than 130 parks and seven toll bridges.
The trail beckons you to places you might never otherwise experience. There are moody wetlands bristling with pickleweed, rocky cliffs cloaked in updrafts of iridescent sea spray, habitats for Pacific harbor seals and elusive, gem-colored garter snakes. History lovers can appreciate its grand World War II battleships and Chinese fishing settlements, while urban nerds might monitor operations at major airports and shipping yards and stand atop the Golden Gate Bridge itself.
All together, the trail’s an impressive human achievement – though early on, the idea may have seemed insane.
“When Western settlers came in during the Gold Rush and afterward, they primarily saw the Bay as this bug-infested swampland they wanted to stay away from. It’s where they established industry and was essentially a trash dump to move not-so-nice activities away from where cities were being built,” says Lee Huo, a senior planner at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which coordinates the development of the trail.
This ideology began to change in the 1960s. “A bunch of activists in Berkeley who helped create Save the Bay – which still exists as a nonprofit – essentially said, ‘Wait a second. The Bay is this resource, this jewel we all live around. It’s why we came here in the first place, and we shouldn’t be looking at it as a place to build on.’”
They pressured state legislators to create the 1965 McAteer-Petris Act, which essentially dictated that the shoreline belongs to everybody and shouldn’t be filled unless necessary. That was followed in the 1980s by Senate Bill 100 calling for a bicycling-and-hiking path circling the perimeter of the bays, meant for public recreation and for linking communities together.
From there came the 1989 plan for the Bay Trail, which at that point measured about 120 miles. Its significant growth over the past three decades has come in two primary ways: when public agencies take the initiative to install new stretches or when developers are obliged to build sections in order to get permits.
There’s always work being done on the trail’s spine. But there are also smaller connections growing through new communities, making the whole thing more rich and comprehensive. The slow and piecemeal linkage is traced out in a massive, cross-governmental spreadsheet with entries like, “Burlingame — Slough crossing near gas station,” “Tiburon – access to Blackie’s Pasture,” “Mountain View — Stevens Creek Trail” and “Proposed — Bay Bridge West Span.”
So what’s the best way to experience this ever-evolving wonder?
“Here’s what I would do,” says Schwabe. “I would look at a map of the Bay Area and find an area you’re totally unfamiliar with, maybe Pinole or Alviso or even West Oakland, and I would go there. I would walk around and learn something new about the cultures and what we have to offer out there.”
Carry plenty of water and snacks and perhaps an official set of Bay Trail map cards sold by retailers such as San Francisco’s Museum of Craft and Design as well as the mtc.ca.gov site (just search “map cards”). And if you plan to go hardcore like Schwabe did, consider your choice of footwear wisely.
“I started out with my running shoes and then about halfway through, my arches were ready to collapse,” he says. “I thought, ‘My god, I’m severely injured!’ and realized I’d been walking 150 miles with no support. So I switched to North Face hiking boots and, with no injury, was able to finish it off.”
Here are 10 of our favorite stretches along the Bay Trail, plus tips on where to grab a bite afterward.
The marshlands of Coyote Hills, Fremont
It’s easy to momentarily lose your sense of time or even place on the Bay View Trail in Fremont’s Coyote Hills Regional Park. After January’s winter storms, the hills on one side of the trail are blanketed with emerald-green grasses, punctuated by craggy red rocks. On the other side, surprisingly clear, blue-green water ripples in a former salt pond stretching far out into the Bay. It’s a world away from the office parks, strip malls and subdivisions of Fremont and Newark.
The 1,266-acre park, dedicated in 1967, is notable for its mostly treeless hills – part of an ancient range – that suddenly rise up amid the flat expanse of wetlands and the Bay. The park draws hikers, joggers, bikers and birdwatchers to its network of well-marked trails, including the Bay View, Alameda Creek and Apay, which are part of the Bay Trail. Explore meadows and marshlands, climb to the top of Red Hill and venture out onto levees built around the evaporation ponds once used to mine salt from the Bay. Visitors can also view sites once used by the Tuibun, a Chochenyo Ohlone-speaking tribe, who thrived here for 2,000 years before the arrival of Spanish missionaries.
The trail: A 3.5-mile loop starts at the visitor center and winds up and around the contour of the hills. On the western side, the trail offers great shoreline views and access to even longer trails, including the Alameda Creek and No Name trails, which lead out on levees to the Shoreline Trail in Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
Details: The park district is finishing up a project — slated for completion this spring — to provide better parking and public facilities and to restore habitat to 170 acres of savanna and seasonal wetlands. Until then, walk into the park on Patterson Ranch Road, where you can catch the Bay Trail at the Quarry Staging Area or the visitor center. Find details, a map and seasonal hours at www.ebparks.org/parks/coyote-hills.
Nearby bites: Head into nearby Newark, where a variety of Asian restaurants populate the shopping centers along Jarvis Avenue. The tiny, unpretentious Rice and Spoon, which is open from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday at 7060 Jarvis Ave., serves up delicious banh mi and pho; www.riceandspoon.com. Satisfy your craving for sweet and creamy boba milk or Vietnamese coffee at the Feng Cha Teahouse, which is open from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily in the Newark Place shopping center; www.fengchabayarea.com.
The 19th-century waterfront, San Francisco
This fascinating walk is like taking a distilled shot of Bay history — straight, no chaser. Begin just outside the sea lion-crowded waters of Hyde Street Pier at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Here you might think you tripped into a wormhole to the 1800s, with the square-rigger Balclutha and other historic ships lined up for public touring. A visitors center holds a pirate’s bounty of artifacts, from remnants of local wrecks and a lighthouse Fresnel lens to pictorials showing how sailors slept underneath wood-plank sidewalks (the housing market was tough even back then).
Across the street, you might spot a drenched-looking individual exiting the South End Rowing Club, which has popularized recreation in these frigid waters since 1873. Pay a small day-use fee, and you can step inside the hallowed club to ogle its boats, enjoy the sauna and listen to athletes tell of swimming to Alcatraz Island. Terry Hunt has made that journey 21 times. “That’s nothing,” she noted on a recent afternoon. “There are four or five people who’ve done it over a thousand times. Twenty-one is chump change.” (Now’s a good time to mention the club’s motto: “No sniveling.”)
Alcatraz is front-and-center in the crescent-shaped scope of Aquatic Park. Look down at low tide for a weirder view: Some of the seaweed-carpeted “rocks” on the waterfront are actually grave markers. San Francisco’s expansion required a lot of fill material, and tombstones from the Gold Rush occasionally fit the bill. A narrow staircase just west leads to a secret-feeling cliff walk by Fort Mason, where ships once mustered for America’s colonial pursuits. The old Black Point artillery fortification with its massive cannon is pointed out to sea, still waiting to rain hell on the British and Confederates.
From here, it’s a two-mile walk to Crissy Field with its famous Bay views. But an equally impressive experience can be found at Marina Green, where lush grass unrolls like a landing strip pointed at the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s a fine place to take a breather, enjoy a snack and think random things, like, “I can’t believe the U.S. Navy wanted to paint the bridge black with yellow stripes.”
The trail: This stretch of the Bay Trail is paved and relatively easy, though you’ll need to take stairs to cut through the north end of Fort Mason, the part with the cliff views. Information on the maritime park is available at nps.gov/safr.
The details: The historic ships at Hyde Street Pier ($15 admission) are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at 2905 Hyde St. in San Francisco; www.nps.gov/safr/index.htm.
Nearby bites: Fort Mason’s Radhaus is a Bavarian beer hall that offers massive pours and hearty bites, including bratwurst, pretzels and Jägerschnitzel. It’s open daily at 2 Marina Blvd., Building A, in San Francisco; radhaussf.com. Next door, you’ll find Interval at the Long Now, a coffee and cocktail bar unlike any other with a unique theme — time — as well as salon talks by scientists and powerful tipples such as a Decanted Mother-in-Law served in a New Orleans-style apothecary bottle. It’s open daily until 11 p.m.; theinterval.org.
A Pacific harbor seal homage, San Mateo
Be patient. Seal Point Park may not be much to look at from the parking lot; you’re greeted by towering power lines and ongoing construction at the adjacent San Mateo Wastewater Treatment Plant. But once you get into the park — especially on the Bay side — all that fades away, as you’re soon immersed in a lunch-hour getaway or little weekend escapade. Bring a picnic, bring Fido and bring a sense of adventure.
The park, which takes its name from the Pacific harbor seal, is popular with cyclists as well as windsurfers and kayakers — and it boasts an enormous dog park, too. Bird lovers should keep an eye out for Western sandpipers, willets and other shorebirds working the mudflats. And lovers of art, sculpture and whimsy should definitely venture a few steps off the Bay Trail: You’ll find a cool echo chamber at the top of the park and a Wind Walk that takes you past sculptures and art installations that interact with the breeze.
Seal Point, which is bordered by the smaller Ryder Park to the north and Seal Slough to the south, offers a variety of terrain — hill trails, steep steps and flat paths — and plenty of benches from which to enjoy a lunch-hour picnic as you take in the gorgeous Bay views, complete with the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge and planes soaring to and from San Francisco Airport.
The trail: Wondering about the creatures who live here? This stretch of the Bay Trail, a mostly flat path right along the water, is dotted with informational signs about local wildlife, including Pacific harbor seals, the only marine mammal that resides in the Bay year round.
Details: The park, located at 1901 J. Hart Clinton Drive, offers free parking, restrooms, kayak/windsurfing access and a three-acre fenced dog park with a separate area for smaller dogs. It’s open from 6 a.m. to half an hour after sunset; cityofsanmateo.org/3384/Seal-Point-Park.
Nearby bites: Load up on apple fritters, French crullers and other doughy treats — and coffee, of course — at Golden Bell Donuts, which opens at 4:30 a.m. daily at 1500 E. Third Ave. in San Mateo.
The Bay Area’s Côte d’Azur, Tiburon to Sausalito
As you stroll the Bay Trail from Tiburon through Belvedere, Mill Valley and Sausalito, the world-class views don’t just boast spectacular natural beauty. They exude glamor — not unlike another famous shoreline in another part of the globe.
San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate, Alcatraz, Angel Island and Mount Tamalpais all offer backdrops to hills stacked with beautiful homes, private yachts and chic downtowns. Admiring the stunning real estate while you walk, run or cycle is part of the fun, even if you’re not an Architectural Digest devotee. There are Mediterranean villas, French chateaus, Victorian painted ladies, elaborate, modernist structures and once-simple Craftsman bungalows updated into multimillion-dollar showplaces. If you pick up the trail along Sausalito’s Bridgeway, just north of the historic downtown, you’ll also pass by the town’s famous floating homes.
It’s easy to pick up the trail at different spots around Richardson Bay – in or near main business districts, or in parks and neighborhoods. Street and lot parking is widely available, though it’s at a premium in downtown Sausalito.
The trail: Start at the Tiburon Peninsula Historical Trail at Shoreline Park near the city’s tiny waterfront downtown, then head northwest along Tiburon Boulevard until you reach Mar West Street near Tiburon’s Town Hall. Here a 3-mile, multi-use trail follows an old railroad alignment, offering views of Mount Tamalpais and Sausalito, and ending at Blackie’s Pasture.
In Mill Valley, access to the Mill Valley-Sausalito Path can start at Bayfront Park. For just over a mile, the trail passes through Bothin Marsh’s prime birdwatching territory, crosses Coyote Creek and passes under Highway 101.
As you enter Sausalito, the trail merges into Bridgeway’s bike lanes and sidewalks for another 3 miles. Just past tiny Vina del Mar Park, the Bridgeway Promenade opens up to one of the trail’s most spectacular vistas – an expanse of San Francisco Bay that takes in the East Bay hills, the Bay Bridge, San Francisco’s skyline and the Golden Gate.
Extras: Near Coyote Creek, the trail intersects with the Tennessee Valley Path, which leads west to the Pacific Ocean and connects to trails in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Or you can head for the northern base of the Golden Gate Bridge by continuing south of Sausalito along East Road toward historic Fort Baker, the former military base now home to the Bay Area Discovery Museum and Cavallo Point Lodge.
Nearby bites: Enjoy oysters, lobster rolls or a Sam’s Louie salad at Tiburon’s century-old Sam’s Anchor Cafe, where the waterfront deck offers views of Angel Island and San Francisco. Open daily for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch at 27 Main St.; https://samscafe.com. In Sausalito, the Baja-inspired Salsalito Taco shop serves seafood tacos, black bean and corn enchiladas and chilaquiles for lunch Thursday-Sunday and dinner Friday-Saturday at 1115 Bridgeway; www.salsalitotacoshop.com.
The maritime district, Richmond
Ever take a hike that included features such as an engine room, a 3-inch/50-caliber gun and “shaft alley”? You can, if you venture down the Bay Trail in Richmond’s historic shipyard district, which terminates at a special and eminently explorable ship called the SS Red Oak Victory.
The Red Oak is the last surviving “Victory Ship” of the 747 constructed here during World War II. Built in an incredible 87 days, it carried ammunition to help in the invasion of Okinawa. Volunteers have been working for decades to get it operational again – not for aggression (you’re safe for now, Canada), but to take visitors through the Golden Gate or up to Sacramento.
“We were able to light off the boilers in 2018 and then run the generators and operate under the ship’s power,” says Alan Burns, a lead docent and purser.
Climb aboard and you can see the bridge, galley, stacked bunks, some “not bad” bathrooms and a 1940s radio room that transmits in Morse code. There’s also a 175-foot-long propeller shaft and that 50-cal. deck gun.
“We’ve actually fired it,” says Burns. “We just put in some powder – there was no shell involved.”
The trail: A paved trail leads through a charmingly gritty landscape of railroad tracks and new cars waiting for export. With no great public-transportation option here, the trail is best reached by car or bike (and there is a sizable biking contingent that comes here). While many stretches of the Bay Trail are ADA-friendly, be aware that exploring this ship involves stairs.
Details: The Red Oak is open from 10 a.m. until late afternoon on Sundays at 1337 Canal Blvd., Berth 5, in Richmond. Find details and seasonal hours at redoakvictory.us.
Nearby bites: Riggers Loft, a historic, cavernous warehouse space, offers wine tastings and a cider bar, food pop-ups and live music on many weekends. Surrounded by a seawall of wine barrels, its outdoor space is great for enjoying sunny weather and views of boats motoring in and the gleaming San Francisco skyline. Riggers Loft opens at 5 p.m. Thursday-Friday and 1 p.m. weekends at 1325 Canal Blvd. in Richmond; riggersloftwine.com.
Torpedos away, Vallejo
Vallejo — and its stretch of the Bay Trail — are graced with a particularly scenic waterfront dotted with marinas and classic dockside eateries. And its distinctive Waterfront Park Trail which runs alongside the Napa River offers views of the gantry cranes, dry docks and other industrial colossi at the heart of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, one of the most significant places in local and American military history.
Mare Island actually is a peninsula, poised where the Napa River flows into the Carquinez Strait and San Pablo Bay. Legend has it that the peninsula’s name comes from General Mariano Vallejo, whose prize mare swam to safety after an 1830s shipwreck in the Bay. The shipyard’s operations predate the Civil War by nearly a decade, and its first commander, Commodore David Farrugut, was the Union hero whose most famous line — “Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead.” — lives on today.
Until the shipyard closed in 1996, the changing nature of warfare and America’s place in the world was reflected by the ships launched here – from steam-powered gunboats to destroyers, battleships, aircraft carriers and nuclear-powered submarines used in both world wars, the Cold War and beyond.
From Vallejo’s portion of the Bay Trail, you can still see where those ships were launched. The massive former machine shops and brick-sided coal sheds have since been transformed into chic, warehouse-style spaces for startups, artists studios and a local brewery.
The trail: The level, paved, mile-long multi-use trail starts at the Vallejo Boat Launch, near a municipal parking lot, continues north through Independence Park, passing the Vallejo Ferry Terminal, a waterfront green and the Vallejo Yacht Harbor and Municipal Marina before ending at the Mare Island Causeway.
Explore more: Use the pedestrian path on the causeway to reach Mare Island, where the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation offers docent-led tours; https://www.mihpf.org. A crossing under the causeway leads to River Park, where a dirt trail offers views of marshlands and Wine Country mountains. Or you can head several blocks east on Georgia Street and wander around Vallejo’s small historic downtown, which includes the historic 1911 Empress Theatre and the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum.
Nearby bites: The Sardine Can’s Marina Salad with tuna, bacon bits, chopped egg and red potatoes has long been the go-to meal for Dennis Kelly, the vice president of the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation. The seafood eatery, a local favorite for decades, is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner at “0” Harbor Way in Vallejo; https://vallejosardinecan.com. Or head for the Mare Island Brewing Company’s taproom to sample Coal Shed Stout or Farrugut’s Farmhouse barrel-aged saison. The tap room is open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily at the Ferry Terminal, 289 Mare Island Way; www.mareislandbrewingco.com.
Levees, boardwalks and mysteries, San Jose
It’s easy to feel like you’ve left the bustling city behind and entered a different world as you explore the wonderfully secluded Alivso Marina County Park, its levee trails and boardwalks accessed through fantastical yellow portals. The park’s ongoing South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project and its heavy machinery may provide the occasional reminder of reality, but don’t let that deter you.
This 20.6-acre treasure extends into the southernmost reaches of the Bay and serves as the gateway to the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It’s a quiet and peaceful spot with shorebirds, rippling water and the occasional patter of jogger footfalls adding to the meditative natural soundtrack.
“It’s easy to get lost out there,” says Santa Clara County park ranger David Espinoza.
Learn about how this section of the Bay’s shoreline has changed over time by taking one of the park’s free interpretive boat rides offered from May through October through the Alviso Slough.
The trail: The park’s Bay Trail segment is a 9-mile loop that offers splendid views of wetlands and brackish and freshwater marshes as well as of the old salt ponds that are being restored to tidal wetlands and other habitats. (Some of portions of the loop may be closed due to the restoration project.)
Details: The park is open from 8 a.m. to sunset at 1195 Hope St. in San Jose and provides free parking, restrooms and kayak/boat launch access. Be sure to bring water, Espinoza says, especially if you’re tackling the entire 9-mile trail. Dogs are allowed in the park and picnic areas, but not on the trails, levees or boardwalks. Find maps and details on the park and interpretive boat rides at parks.sccgov.org.
Nearby bites: El Taco de Oro serves everything from menudo and huevos con chorizo to burritos, enchiladas and quesadillas con carne. It’s open for breakfast and lunch daily at 5220 N. First St.; eltacodeoro.com. Prefer a food truck option? The El Taco de Oro RM — similar name, different owner — is parked right next door.
A Chinese fishing village, San Rafael
Think of Marin County’s natural jewels, and the mind turns to Mount Tam. But it’s China Camp State Park that, year after year, tops local polls for best park – people just really seem to connect with this quirky, unassuming place.
It’s not flashy. Naturewise, perhaps the park’s most significant claim is having the largest intact, original marsh in the Bay Area. It also abuts something called Rat Rock Island which, well, your guess is as good as ours. But visit China Camp, and its charms will grow on you. Well-maintained trails make it a paradise for mountain bikers, who come from near and far to do a popular loop. At its highest point, views of San Pablo Bay are unbeatable. And then there’s its legacy as one of a couple dozen Chinese fishing villages that dotted the Bay in the late 1800s, specializing in grass shrimp dried for export.
A fire erased the original village, though it was later rebuilt. “There was tremendous anti-Chinese sentiment at the time. This was not the only case of a ‘mysterious fire’ burning down Chinese homes,” says Martin Lowenstein, executive director of the nonprofit Friends of China Camp.
Today, people can explore traces of the community’s history at a pleasant beach with a museum, a boat workshop with a replica of a Chinese junk and a historic cafe that used to prepare shrimp salad (but nowadays stocks more standard picnic fare). A pier for shrimp hauling now is the perfect place to dip your feet or even jump in the water, as temperatures are 10 degrees warmer than what you’ll usually find in the Bay. Trails wind all around the park and make for great spotting of wildlife, from mule deer to wild turkeys to the elusive American badger.
The trail: A dirt/gravel section of the SF Bay Trail goes through the park, with a planned portion on North San Pedro Road passing right by China Camp Village. The roughly 1,500-acre state park itself has 15 miles of multi-use trails, including ADA and mountain bike-friendly ones, and an accessible loop called Turtle Back Trail that ventures into the marsh.
Details: Find the visitor center at 101 Peacock Gap Trail in San Rafael; https://www.parks.ca.gov/. Camping sites available. Food and beverages are sold at China Camp Village on the weekends. The beach is also popular for picnicking and barbecuing.
Nearby bites: “Down the road, there is a nice neighborhood supermarket with a coffee and wine bar called Andy’s Local Market. It’s the local hangout,” says Lowenstein. “My personal favorite place to eat, further down the road, is Puentez Taqueria.” The market is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 75 Loch Lomond Drive in San Rafael; www.andyslocalmarket.com/. The taqueria is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily except Sunday at 243 Third St.; www.puentez.com/
Beauty and the former beast, Berkeley
Rarely does something so ugly become so beautiful. In the 1950s, this spit of land off Berkeley was a dump for municipal waste. Since then, the city’s capped the landfill to create Cesar Chavez Park, a waterfront site with bird-watching options, dog-walking delights, Irish-green vegetation and some of the best views in the East Bay.
The first tipoff that this isn’t your ordinary open space is the gas-flare station, which sticks up like a giant birthday candle neutralizing methane from 12 feet of buried garbage. It’s surrounded by copious amounts of wildlife, from fat ground squirrels munching fresh grass to fluffy birds with stunningly colored chests (there’s a shorebird preserve here). Cesar Chavez Park itself is a vast meadow threaded with pleasant pathways, where dogs burn off energy by charging up and down rolling hills.
A trail sign lets you know this area’s called “Berkeley’s windy front porch,” and it’s no exaggeration. Gulls hover seemingly in place without so much as flapping a wing – it’s no wonder the park has regularly hosted kite-flying festivals. The relentless breeze seems to have given permanent hunches to the gnarled pines protecting the Bay path. Sometimes, the wind and low jingling of halyards from the marina’s boats is all you can hear; it’s quite zenlike.
Exploring in any direction can provide fun rewards. There’s a long pier (now closed) that in the early 1900s loaded cars onto ferries for people who had come over to watch Cal football games. For the kids, there’s a charmingly rustic play area, and nautically minded adults can go sea-kayaking or just walk around spotting boats with names like “Vague Unrest.”
Details: A paved, wheelchair-accessible trail runs around the perimeter of Cesar Chavez Park. Other paved trails will take you through a yacht harbor and a shorebird park. There are picnicking sites, public restrooms and a deli serving sandwiches and fried seafood.
Nearby bites: Skates on the Bay is your quintessential waterside restaurant with a seafood-heavy menu and a shrimp cocktail that arrives in a cloud of dry-ice vapor. But it’s the view you’re really here for – and it’s fantastic, with floor-to-ceiling windows exposing a panorama from the Bay Bridge to Marin and all the islands in between. Open for lunch and dinner daily at 100 Seawall Drive in Berkeley; skatesonthebay.com.
A peninsula refuge surrounded by water, Menlo Park
You’ll find Bedwell Bayfront Park at the end of Marsh Road, a 160-acre community jewel that draws hikers, runners, cyclists, photographers, kite-fliers and other outdoor lovers looking for a respite from the hustle and bustle of Silicon Valley.
The fact that this is a former landfill is shocking now — and downright unfathomable when you’re taking in the view from atop the park’s highest point. A climb to the park’s top knoll offers amazing views of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, which borders the park on three sides.
Bedwell offers a choose-your-own-adventure approach to hiking with an extensive, mostly unpaved trail system that ranges from steep trails across the hilly interior to a relatively flat track circling the perimeter. Walk, gaze and keep an eye out for the more than 30 species of birds that frequent this region.
The trail: The SF Bay Trail segment at this park consists of a relatively flat, 2.3-mile loop that runs through some charming bayside terrain and offers soothing views of marshes and former salt ponds.
Details: The park is open from 7 a.m. to sunset at 1600 Marsh Road in Menlo Park, with free parking, restrooms and a bottle filling/hydration station; menlopark.gov/Parks/Bedwell-Bayfront-Park.
Nearby bites: Follow Marsh Road west across Highway 101 and you’ll find a number of tasty options at Redwood City’s Marsh Manor shopping center. Fill up with fajitas, a super burrito and margaritas at Los Gallos Taqueria, which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily at 3726 Florence St. Prefer pizza? Try State of Mind Public House and Pizzeria for lunch or dinner daily at 3710 Florence St.; stateofmindpublichouse.com.
