A blog about hiking in the Bay Area still doesn't have one by
the bay? That situation got remedied today with our hike at the Baylands Nature Preserve in Palo
Alto. We chose the trailhead located at the intersection of San Antonio Rd. and
Terminal Rd., just off Hwy 101. There is plenty of street parking available on
Terminal Rd.
The Baylands is part of the San Francisco Bay Trail,
which promises to be a 500 mile path around our beautiful Bay someday. We chose to do
the Adobe Creek Trail, a 5.6 mile loop from where we parked into the Baylands
Nature Preserve maintained by the City of Palo Alto.
The trail runs through the
wetlands and sloughs and creeks while at the
same time providing glimpses of the bay. While it is dog friendly, there are warnings that are very particular about keeping your dog on leash.
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| Charleston Slough |
The day started off with a stubborn morning fog and the
sun chipping away at it steadily. A small segment leading from Terminal Rd. was
paved, but it switched to a dirt trail soon after. When we were walking, there was
low tide, so Charleston Slough on our right was a proper marshland. Baylands
Nature Preserve is a bird-watcher's dream, with an opportunity to see a variety of birds in their
natural habitat. If you are serious, a good pair of binoculars is a must to
enjoy bird-watching.
The Adobe Creek on our left had water. We continued on
and came across an island on our left – with the ultimate seagull party
happening there! There are a couple of good spots to observe the bay beyond the
wetlands before the trail turns left and starts heading inland. Soon, you will come
upon a fork, where bearing left would keep you on Adobe Creek Trail and going
right would take you to Byxbee Park & Recreation Area. Since it wasn't a
long detour, we continued towards Byxbee Park to check it out. There is a
parking lot here, accessible from Embarcadero Road (off Hwy 101). That way would've taken us further towards a duck pond where Apollo isn’t welcome, so we
turned around and joined the Adobe Creek Trail.
Instead of taking the trail closely following Mayfield Slough on our left, we chose to climb the small hillock – Byxbee Hill – on the
right. It did provide us with a slightly elevated view of the marshlands and SF Bay.
The City of Palo Alto was doing some work firming up the landfills and creating a few more dirt trails that would run up the hillside. The only interesting
happening there was a hare that ran past us. Apollo’s ears perked up as he
closely followed the hare. Wonder who would have won a race between "the hare and
Apollo" :).
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| View from Byxbee Hill |
With the bay to our back, the trail got a little boring,
although there was a spot where I felt we were in the prime of spring even
though it is still winter! The plants and shrubs were green, sporting beautiful
yellow flowers, and the temperature was in the high 60s with the sun having
fully emerged from the fog. The dirt trail ends right at Hwy 101 / E Bayshore
Rd. Turn left and walk towards the starting point.
I’ve driven by the Baylands for nearly 20 years and have
wondered what this open space contains…. Now that I have the answer, it’s
interesting that in about a month’s time, this route will cease to be my commute!
A completely flat trail by the marshlands, the 6.2 mile
loop that we did today could be slightly shorter if you avoid the extra excursions
we indulged in. Sure, this hike is by the Bay, but provided just glimpses of
it. I will have to look into the 340 miles of the already laid out SF Bay Trail to
find something that offers lot more of the bay.
#Hiking #HikingWithDogs #BaylandsPaloAlto #AdobeCreekTrail #SFBayTrail
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