Alameda Creek Trail 2015-11-10

Alameda Creek Regional Trail, a 12 mile trail on the banks of Alameda creek runs from Niles Canyon westward all the way to San Francisco Bay. There are two trails that run on both banks of the creek. A paved blacktop trail on the southern side and a dirt trail on the northern side that allows equestrians. I had parked in the Niles Creek staging area, the entrance to which is on Old Canyon Rd off Mission Blvd just north of its intersection with Mowry Ave.

The first thing that will strike you when you start the hike is how w-i-d-e the creek is. On top of it, the hillside on the north provided an impressive backdrop to start off our walk. The trail goes by an underpass at Old Canyon Rd and emerges on the other side by a railroad. 

The trail runs parallel to the rail road until the underpass at Mission Blvd. Rail roads always have a fascination for me and it was cool to be there today seeing a Union Pacific diesel engine moving around in this section by the creek. The creek also becomes dry with a dam holding the water on one side in this section. 

The trail curves around and passes by a pond on the left called Kaiser cove that belongs to a model boat club. In this section, there is a dirt trail that runs by the paved trail until the next underpass by BART tracks. 

Coming off the BART track underpass, the trail runs by a residential area on the left until Isherwood Way where we turned around today. It is possible to connect to the dirt trail on the north by using the Sequoia bridge in this stretch. The north side trail also runs on the boundary of Quarry Lakes recreational area that we did not visit today.

Apollo and I enjoyed our mid morning walk today after the drenching rains yesterday. Alameda creek trail, especially the paved side is a great option to go to after rains if you want to avoid walking by muddy dirt tracks. 

The riparian trail system will also give you an opportunity to see lots of birds. In addition to mallard ducks that is common in bay area, I also saw a blue heron, great egret, lesser scaups and a group of Canada geese that took flight as Apollo and I walked by them near the Kaiser cove pond.

Our out and back walk today was little over 6 miles, from Niles creek staging area until Isherwood Way. With more than 12 miles of trail one way, I will save the other sections for a rainy day this winter.

More pictures from our hike.
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