Eden Landing, part 2 - June 25, '11

Walking Distance: 5 miles (estimate)
Walking Time: 1 hr., 47 min. (6:33 - 8:20 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Eden Landing Ecological Reserve parking lot (near Arden Rd.)

This evening I walked the second (longer) part of the Eden Landing trail from a parking lot in the north (a little south of Highway 92) southeast, toward Hesperian Blvd.

On the older set of (hard copy) Bay Trail maps that I have, much of this trail still appeared as a gray, dotted line, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this trail had been extended since the maps were printed. (See solid red line trail on the Bay Trail map above right.) This trail now ends (or begins, depending on where you start) at a housing development near/off of Eden Shores.

Before I reached the end, I had to slow down my pace a little, when I noticed I had a walking companion -- a skunk who was ambling around the edge of the trail, and headed in roughly the same direction that I was. I whistled a tune, and even starting to talk to the skunk (all the while, not getting closer than 20 feet from it), in hopes of not startling it and causing it to spray in my direction. But the skunk didn't appear to notice me. Perhaps this one was hard of hearing. Eventually it shuffled off the path and disappeared under a fence into long grass; so I could finally resume my walk before dark.

At the end of this trail, there was a private channel (I would call it a moat), with a gate (that I believe is locked at certain hours) that separates the end of this trail with a housing development. And there looked to be a small parking lot on the other side of this gate that was part of this community. For those wanting to park closer to civilization, it looked like this parking lot (assuming it's open to the public) could be reached by turning onto Industrial (from Hesperian) and then to Marina, and Eden Shores. Once inside the housing development, look for the playground area near the Bay, and for Dune Circle, where the trail starts.

Wildlife Sightings:
1 great egret, 5 snowy egrets; 8 swallows; 8 unidentified brownish shorebirds (UBBs) with long/curved beaks; 67 other medium-size UBBs; 12 sea gulls; 1 whiffle ball; 24 black-necked stilts; 2 American Avocets; 22 ducks; 6 terns; 9 Canada geese; 1 skunk; 4 hares; 13 red-winged blackbirds + 10 other blackbirds/in same flock birds; 

Hayward - Eden Landing - June 24, '11

Walking Distance: 2.6 miles
Walking Time: 1 hr., 2 min. (4:50 - 5:52 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Street parking space near Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center, 4901 Breakwater Ave., Hayward, CA


This afternoon I walked from the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center to the Eden Landing Ecological Reserve Parking lot.

Unfortunately, the Interpretive Center was closed when I walked this route today. However, I did start and end my walk near this facility.

From the Interpretive Center building, I walked East on Breakwater Avenue, and took the pedestrian and bicycle overpass (crossing over Highway 92). This overcrossing allows visitors to start walking the packed gravel trail on the other side almost immediately; follow the signs and you'll be headed down a gravel path, toward the parking lot that serves the Eden Landing Ecological Reserve (less than a half mile away from the overpass). 

Once I reached the Eden Landing Ecological Reserve parking lot, and made some notes on how to reach this lot (near Arden Road) again -- which is not as simple as it sounds -- I turned around and walked back over the bridge/overcrossing and back to the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center.

Wildlife Sightings:
1 unidentified flying bug; 39 little brown jobs (LBJs); 6 sea gulls; 27 swallows; 2 very small black beetles; 1 crow; 2 brown snails; 1 med., brownish lizard; 2 ground squirrels