![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoD82hFuRzR6N8A56pCvQdkuchcspQmUBMIgwQqnpFpCSXEkuZ3T1xpLJz5rVuG7LnFXJ0ieHA4RJeKxc20-EaIQEDHQH0-ps-JvymK1YlmA2OslX3CiJbWxcdgcNElQ7OU0Ws89iROYJ3/s200/Hamilton.RdSidwlkNearSkatepk.4.16.14.600.jpg)
Walking Distance: 4.5 miles (estimate)
Walking Time: 2 hrs., 12 min. (4:49 - 7:01 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Novato Skatepark parking lot, Novato, CA
Today's walk was a mix of sidewalks, packed dirt trails, smaller "goat trails" and road shoulders.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisizlrFK35okXs5GHEG16ZkFeSzF44k0tAfMqCvIvKhyphenhyphenNgm8LnOlzNdYSiNGte09V6hYJTPfeKL1bBQvrHF3KWvVG5V5hJTFH_mDZYq4yZIsK_vZwHiMb5de-aiDFkrtpipAYWLGd4dlWC/s200/Hamilton.NoTrespssSign.Houses.4.16.14.600.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5zZeCnvJYOB0AJ139okjJ1YkIG8XuIWu_qH8vE6HRWHVbVs1do4c4vsxQ4xak0ZdHk0QBUE1hp3oTQlmwvRudOiTCNxLQk6aIFaRzl-fB5u_QKaa4zoIk6JQdb2SXYO_TFa5xgSU6x0Z-/s200/Hamilton.OldCemntArch.Grass.4.16.14.600.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfEmVVg24eD388Q7V6ArVAXcBa5ewBJuV-kb02JE8tVzCy3yq6nvbr7Vx3d95WrVE1SmzIU1ISh4jyXLZE5GussLsS8HdsbIrSC2CmWiNxh34WhnUSfSJFzr-ImWxFXj0xdtdhCl4qRjiF/s200/Hamilton.2Swallows.4.16.14.600.jpg)
From the Novato Skatepark parking lot (1200 Hamilton Parkway), I walked southeast on Hamilton Parkway on the sidewalk, and made a left onto a trail that paralleled Aberdeen Road, that forked to the right and left. After exploring the right fork and returning, and then the left fork, I found the connection to a trail that would lead to the Bay Trail that would lead north-ish toward Bel Marin Keys.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtDGc1Thf4L40fizOA86CUDIquJCObsoeU1Yc-Xl_CCNogDMiB1MTU3YoFOXw7SbNTPFwvfQrLtpQBk7mae2uU1Cng6It5i5743gM0MuiFRlrSkNh7XSrGtWYIb_pmd0FlE6z2K-KufLg6/s200/Hamilton.DuckInWaterMarsh.4.16.14.600.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjXrftjlFZdmPxbz-nIrjrv6G26xbUi5qJnlaMg9Ovjbx0BEirybaulypxyfjqbDjcZLY3ZYlZDkvzRUp4E9y8Xz-DLcy31ajuFLp1G4EiZoNCQWf_ZV2hGPe49PCRvT2IEehemE6GvqjT/s200/Hamilton.Trail.Baylands.4.16.14.600.jpg)
Walking through the old Hamilton Air Force Base, you'd hardly know there was a base there back in the 1970s, until you start seeing no trespassing signs, and old bunkers and cement walls poking through the grass amongst grass covered hummocks and a smattering of trees and brush.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx69wXk3CxmVhyphenhyphenMZd5ts2MpK1pqt2ipU7rBuGpU83Vj6q-qxFU4QyCD8Ox6_emwtY8wSZY5zv5OXwzLRkPzSyDod1_tFs_UQ4N9q2ytnUZ_IZ5BKveBd_iLxSe18goHtMcNASPoyj74K3E/s200/Hamilton.NewTrail.MtTam.4.16.14.600.jpg)
Soon enough I was passing marshes and enjoying a new section of Bay Trail. I followed trails that headed northwest to Bel Marin and took a left toward toward Bel Marin Keys and Pacheco Pond.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg763xmiAh-otElGNZQwmlsWPGyQZbQo07BN2rFIcbmIZk3MfV3-cWc55rCNANO7QXRl1L3jIbEgUYAfKQua3Y-JOa1tv6JCRcxMaEWmeEesCJlr0jNckQmEXAWromz1H0RW9DeT9DGagYA/s200/BelMarinKeys.NarrowTrail.4.16.14.600.jpg)
This led to a narrow, unimproved path that popped out on the other side onto Bel Marin Keys Blvd. From there I headed left (westish) and passed by Pacheco Pond on my left side. It was late in the day, and I enjoyed watching a swam glide by in the distance and the evening colors being picked up by the reeds, water and trees.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2YIEVsz2WLV0lMufkO8-o16IHimMROqZRGqjV7560vFLNS-kCQNoIvEyRalfHnFeX-ADxCnjXPnZ4HG7TIMZC0S4I8ZETA6Gp1yy2r3l5jRSezUhB7yModkIkvd01rNHo8v7Ns6-_QbyY/s200/BelMarinKeys.LeafyBowrTrail.Monk.4.16.14.600.jpg)
I continued (west) on the side of the road up Bel Marin Keys Blvd., until I reached a commercial, light industrial area where sidewalks began to appear. As I got closer to Highway 101, the road began to turn west and south.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieXvKzbf6v2JAGZH-FaeC5V1w_Ro3mAqPeMPAMYpDItDmkf9NXHXwjeQYUItcWTyH2lBDVkeCUaDGf1WAahqYqaf3i8n13hHfkeNV3aK_wDpy9eNe-BJT7DVrB2codeV-9WKWxvl020Y48/s200/BelMarinKeys.PachecoPond.4.16.14.600.jpg)
Closer to the highway, I went down a flight of cement stairs and followed a railroad right-of-way path for a bit before reaching a large shopping center (Hamilton Marketplace, 5800 Nave Drive, Novato, CA.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCK1cT7xgS2fRFRPVwiVfv-qcoJ6F45U_jF65AOTjZOoXrm41jvpLr6ibI_Dpw5eS0SOAFjTXWqDI1LTFGTDCIlknJ74Ug1pVdO1GQG8NL494SRgNKi-SDqi9tItC7qJAoZGDB9TtWKyVs/s200/BelMarinKeys.Rd2PachecoPond.4.16.14.600.jpg)
After traversing the shopping center and Safeway parking lots, I took a left onto Hamilton Parkway, passed the Marriott Courtyard Novato hotel, crossed the railroad tracks, and made my way back to the Skatepark.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGovff2gfjuv1ghQ8NgUbLtZAAHgckS035IsnMTZi7BdFfX3yS8VwGVFuIouMwzFKj9F4yE3md4S8hvqaWH7drBvJblfoKLF0zKJZ46vLwPT6ixsk9X9WK62z8GivmxW9CR3yUGONBssYB/s200/BelMarinKeys.Rd.Sidwlk.4.16.14.600.jpg)
Restrooms are not glamorous, but they are an essential amenity for long, urban hikes. The freshly graffiti-ed portable restroom at the Skatepark was just what I imagined it would be. But, better having one here than nothing.
Wildlife Sightings:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinT5TqtoTI6Pwow6uWrkYmnuGC0QmpoijhXXo0CfhR_xOKpKswRAOELc8GFkNbdAXCHuFUeudHbI6m6z5GvNrbOd7BP2hvqnuGkslfptmlxoZgiW15HUPeEaMKY-cYaIS5unnu87_W8AC4/s200/Novato.SkateparkPortAPot.4.16.14.600.jpg)
11 ducks; 22 red-winged blackbirds; 5 lizards; 9 little brown jobs (LBJs) + 2 rosy finches; 1 California Thrasher (pretty, medium-larger sized drab olive - golden green songbird); 1 black-necked stilt going after 2 grebes (too close to nesting area?); 2 grebes; 3 starlings; 1 turkey vulture; 38 swallows (both types); 7 Canada geese; 1 white swan in Pacheco Pond; 2 crows; 2 blue jays (scrub jays)