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The East Bay leg of the San Francisco Bay Trail has an extraordinary, long stretch from San Leandro Marina southward to the Hayward Shoreline. Where some of the Bay Trail jogs inland on paved roads, this particular portion runs alongside the Bay and through the heart of the marina itself.
San Leandro Marina - Bay Trail
The trail is walkable and bike-friendly — better with the aid of two wheels since two feet will only take you so far in a day. It’s an effort in progress, incomplete, with sections added as they become part of the great Bay circumnavigation. Ultimately, the various links in the trail will connect around San Francisco Bay and northward around San Pablo Bay.
According to the Bay Trail’s mission statement the trail will ultimately connect “the shoreline of all nine Bay Area counties, link 47 cities, and cross the major toll bridges in the region. To date, approximately 290 miles of the alignment—over half the Bay Trail’s ultimate length—have been completed.”
–> San Francisco Bay Trail Maps
Landing at Oakland - ©ingrid
A perk of trail access here (and of the adjacent Oyster Bay) is the view to Oakland Airport landings. At low tide, the reflections of aircraft bellies glide across the mud flats — the planes juxtaposed against the silhouette of San Francisco beyond.
Depending on the season, the bird sightings can be spectacular. Winter, of course, brings a slew of migrating ducks and shorebirds, many of which can be found foraging as the water level seeps away from the shore. Photo below:
Killdeer - ©ingrid
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