Fremont-Newark - July 3, '11

Walking Distance: 4.8 miles (2.4 miles x 2)
Walking Time(s):
1.) 56 min. (7:59 - 8:55 p.m.)
2.) 48 min. (9:03 - 9:51 p.m.)
Start and End Point(s):
1.) Karl Nordvic Park, Fremont, CA
2.) Raley's Supermarket, Newark, CA

Tonight I walked Ardenwood Boulevard (from Paseo Padre Parkway to Jarvis Avenue) and Jarvis Ave. (from Ardenwood Blvd. to Gateway in Newark). These two streets (both shown as double red lines on Bay Trail map) form two sides of a Bay Trail triangle Bay, east of the San Francisco Bay, with Paseo Padre Parkway (and a bit of Thornton Ave.) forming the third side.

I passed the Ardenwood Historic Farm, but it was closed. The farm acreage is surrounded by housing and railroad tracks to the north, and Highway 84 and shopping centers to the south. This much open land being preserved in agricultural form was a rare and wonderful sight. There was also a produce stand (Perry's Fresh Organic Produce, off Ardenwood); however, I believe it was closed for the evening as well.

Walking in an urban area like this with generous sidewalks and street lighting made it easy to decide to walk later, to beat the heat. I waited until the cooler, evening hours to start my stroll. And it was much more pleasant. The only disadvantage: evening walks make capturing the experience in photos a bit more difficult -- since I don't walk with any extra weight or photo gear, such as a tripod. Of course it's especially challenging if I forget my camera entirely -- which I did. So, I have no pictures of this area. I may go back and snap a few if I have time later.

Wildlife Sightings:

7 sea gulls; 7 crows; 1 mockingbird; 24 little brown jobs (LBJs); 2 snowy egrets (flying overhead); 1 great blue heron (flying overhead); 2 ducks (flying overhead); 1 snail; 1 moth; 6 unidentified flying bugs (that I hope weren't mosquitos).


Notes: Use caution when walking across intersections on Ardenwood that are also Highway 84 freeway off-ramps and on-ramps. Also, while the sidewalks along both these roads were great for pedestrians, the bicycle lanes were a bit on the narrow side in some spots.

Paseo Padre Parkway - June 26, '11

Walking Distance: 1.75 mi. (estim.)
Walking Time: 39 min. (7:59 - 8:38 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Public, unpaved parking lot at the corner of Patterson Ranch Rd., and Paseo Padre Parkway, Fremont, CA

As the sun set near the Coyote Hills Regional park -- which I'd just left because they were closing at 8 p.m., I re-parked my car in this gravel lot, and decided to walk some of Paseo Padre Parkway -- to the overpass (over Alameda Creek) into Union City and back again.


Along the way, I passed an interesting solar demonstration area, and was able to walk on comfortably large sidewalks both on Paseo Padre Parkway, and also along Ardenwood and Union City Blvd.

However, I would still advise caution in the area shown as double yellow/gold lines on the Bay Trail map -- the stretch where Ardenwood turns into Union City Blvd. -- as passing vehicles are moving rapidly over the overpass/bridge area.


Wildlife Sightings:
1 pillbug; 8 little brown jobs (LBJs); 34 swallows; 2 blurs in the bushes (BIBs); 4 doves; 1 hawk/falcon/kestrel

Bayview Trail - June 26, 2011

Walking Distance: 

Walking Time: 47 min. (6:59 - 7:46 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Coyote Hills parking lot, Fremont, CA

The Bayview Trail in Coyote Hills Regional Park (solid red line trail on Bay Trail map) was a beautiful trail to walk near sunset. From the parking lot south of the Visitor Center (near large rock peak/outcropping), I walked south and then west, and then north.

There was also a sign pointing toward the Bayview Trail -- which is a paved asphalt trail that, in most spots, is wide enough for bicyclists and walkers. Although it's best for walkers to keep to one side and to pay attention; cyclists may be zipping by around corners on the trail.


Unfortunately this park closes at 8 p.m., so I couldn't stay until the sun actually set over the Bay. However, I lingered as long as possible, and left just in time to avoid receiving a citation (for not being out of the park in time). And it was worth it. I look forward to coming back and finishing this walk, hopefully during another summer evening like this one.

On the way in, I walked by the same area with a large concentration of snowy egrets as I'd seen recently on a walk out to Shoreline (via No Name trail). This time my view was from a different angle (higher up in the hills), and I enjoyed watching terns, swooping by in the same area (near a large outflow or inflow pipe, where fishing or dining conditions were probably attractive).

Wildlife Sightings:

4 swallows; 1 black beetle; 23 snowy egrets, 1 great egret; 25 sea gulls; 1 white pelican flying overhead; 1 ladybug; 8 terns; 2 ground squirrels; 4 ducks

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