Pt. San Pedro Rd. - McNears Beach - April 16, '13

Walking Distance: 6.5 mi.
Walking Time: 3 hrs., 47 min. (3:51 - 7:38 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Residential street parking on Lagoon Road, San Rafael,  CA

Today was a beautiful spring afternoon for a walk by the Bay. After parking in a residential neighborhood, I walked northeast on Point San Pedro Road toward McNears Beach. I walked on a mix of sidewalks, paved asphalt path/shoulder and packed dirt today, primarily along Point San Pedro Road (shown as a broken, then solid green line on the 2012-2013 Bay Trail Map Set).

Along the way to McNears Beach, I passed Chapel Cove (and a Chapel), also the San Rafael Rock Quarry and Brickyard. The San Francisco Bay shore was home to several brickyards. I've enjoyed seeing tall brick chimneys that mark these historic sites as I've walked around the Bay. (Note: I did not walk (right) on the McNear Brickyard Road to Point San Pedro, depicted as a broken green line, but will investigate in the future.)

I walked the entrance road (green dotted line) into McNears Beach County Park. At the south end of the park, there was what looked like a dock re-construction project going on. I walked north through the middle of the park, along a paved path with Canada geese on the surrounding lawn. And, further north, I walked along a sandy beach, where there were a number of moon jellies (jellyfish) floating ashore, and crabs that had washed up -- signs of a healthy crab population in the area I'd like to think.

This beach with soft waves would be a great place for a family picnic. (There is also a nearby pool and snack bar; check website for hours of operation between Memorial Day and Labor Day.) Note: there is an admission fee.

After hiking up the road to Point San Pedro Road, I headed southwest, passing my starting point and continuing southwest. I walked past a new shoreline park and a school, on the bayshore side (with a tunnel underpass if you need to cross Point San Pedro Road).

I turned around at Summit Avenue, where I had ended my last walk a few days ago. I stopped for a few minutes to rest on a bench at Bayside Park, then continued until I reached Peacock Drive (Lagoon Road), as it was getting dark.

Wildlife Sightings: 

19 ducks (3 were Lesser Scaups); 10 crows; 5 Western/Clarks grebes; 20 little brown jobs (LBJs); 1 finch; 1 great egret; 4 red-winged blackbirds; 3 butterflies; 11 Canada geese; 4 sea gulls; 1 coot; 1 cloud of ankle-to-eyeball gnats; 5 plovers with dark throat patch/shorebirds; 2 doves

San Rafael - 3rd St., cont. - April 14, '13

Walking Distance: 2.2 miles
Walking Time: 59 min. (5:33 - 6:32 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Montecito Plaza Shopping Center, San Rafael, CA

This segment was a continuation of my walk on 3rd Street from earlier this afternoon. I walked east on 3rd Street, which soon turned into Point San Pedro Road. Most of this walk was on sidewalks along Point San Pedro Road, with a few transitional areas (packed dirt/asphalt shoulder). This stretch of road was shown as a broken green line on the 2012 - 2013 Bay Trail Map set.)

I passed San Rafael High School on the left, and a light industrial and yacht/marine services area on the right, with signs promising live bait and bargain slip rates. A residential neighborhood followed as Point San Pedro Road curved to the left.

There was a stiff breeze this afternoon, and I watched as some birds had to work harder to land on telephone wires above me. This may have been good news to sailors out on the Bay. As is often the case, the sporadic gusts would diminish as the sun went down.

In the meantime, I enjoyed walking through a sheltered "tunnel" of trees and flowers along one stretch of sidewalk.

I chose to end this walk before dark as I'd already walked a fair distance earlier today. I eventually turned around at the intersection of Point San Pedro and Summit Ave. -- the road leading to the Marin Yacht Club.

On the way back into town I enjoyed views of boats in the water with Mount Tamalpais in the distance as the sun was starting to sink lower in the sky.

It's always good to see Mount Tam -- visible for almost a third of my walk around the Bay Trail last time.

Wildlife Sightings:

18 little brown jobs; 2 pigeons; 4 sea gulls; 1 turkey vulture; 3 crows (one was attacking the turkey vulture); 3 black-necked stilts (flying low over water); 3 ducks (mallards)

Pt. San Pedro Rd., cont. #2 - March 19, 2010

Walking Distance: 1.6 miles
Walking Time: 36 min. (7:15 - 7:51 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Street parking along Knight Drive, San Rafael, CA

As it was getting dark, I enjoyed watching the reflection of the lights on the water (from street lights and the Richmond - San Rafael Bridge in the distance), and a large ship sliding bay on the far side of the bay.

Wildlife Sightings:
8 Canada geese; 46 ducks in bay area; 2 Western grebes; 2 Willets flying (were making some noise, white on wings and a little on tails); and 1 brown pelican flying fairly high up was the last bird I saw before it got too dark.