WEEKLY
WALKER
By Tom Davids
A Mosaic of
Landscapes
Hayward
Regional Shoreline
"I like to walk about amidst the beautiful things that adorn the world." George Santayana
Directions: East over the San Mateo Bridge
(Highway 92) to Hayward past the toll plaza to Clawiter Road. Turn left and
cross over 92 to the stop sign. Turn left and continue on Breakwater Avenue to
the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center at 4901 Breakwater Ave. Access is
also available at the west end of Winton Avenue.
Grade: Level.
Distance: Four miles to Mt. Trashmore and back.
Time: Two
hours.
Special Conditions: Be prepared for strong, cool winds from the north and west.
Until 1969, this area enjoyed a checkered past. The Ohlone Indians first used the shoreline to hunt game, gather seeds and berries, and forage for shellfish in the mud flats. Landings were established along the shoreline in the mid-1800s to supply agricultural goods to the growing San Francisco peninsula. John Johnson built levees around 14 acres of marsh in 1854 and started salt harvesting. He also built a boat landing and used it to transport agricultural products and passengers to San Francisco. The landing included a hotel that was a popular sportsmen's hangout. The nearby shoreline and salt marsh were also known for oyster farming, commercial waterfowl hunting, and duck clubs for the leisure class.
By 1950, commercial activity in the area was almost non-existent, and the land remained unused until 1969, when the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District began to live out a dream of returning the marsh to tidal action and providing open space for area residents. In 1976 the Hayward Shoreline Planning Agency was formed, which set the stage for land acquisition and development. Today this resource includes 1,800 acres and provides a rich salt marsh habitat for hundreds of species of birds and other wild life, including the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse.
During February 1996, the state Wildlife Conservation Board announced the purchase of 835 acres of abandoned salt ponds south of the interpretive center. Plans are to restore 550 acres in this area to tidal marsh, which will increase tidal marsh habitat in the Bay Area by about 10 percent.
This is an ideal trail for walking, bicycling, bird watching, and picnicking. On a clear day, views in all directions are spectacular, especially north to San Francisco and Oakland. We took this walk in October and finished during a spectacular sunset. From light orange to deep red, the sky colors were captured and transferred to the bay, the mud flats, the ponds, and the salt marsh. Many minutes after the sun fell behind the West Bay hills, a rosy glow lingered, encouraging us to stay a little while longer as day faded into night.
The walk starts at the Interpretive Center, the wood building on stilts above the marsh at the end of Breakwater Avenue. The center includes interactive exhibits, weekend visitor programs, pictures, maps, and a gift shop. A "Habitat Room" allows you to examine marsh plants and animals under a microscope. Behind the center, the trail heads northwest 0.8 miles along a levee to the former site of Johnson's Landing. On both sides of the levee is a pale green succulent that stores salt in its joints and provides shelter to the Salt Marsh Habitat mouse. At the shoreline--or mud flats, depending on the tide, the trail drifts north next to a series of fresh and brackish water marshes that offer an interesting mix of high technology and basic nature. The "fresh" water for these ponds comes from the Alverado Waste Water Treatment Plant, a state-of-the-art facility on Alameda Creek capable of treating 35 million gallons of wastewater daily. Of this total, some five million gallons a day are directed to the ponds adjacent to the trail. This treated water mixes with bay water to produce the brackish marsh. The rest of the treated wastewater flows to a deep-water mid-bay channel. The trail splits into two legs--west along the shoreline and east on a levee around the backside of a restored salt marsh. Both trails meet farther on, so take either one and catch the other coming back. The shoreline trail features a footbridge over a channel that carries water into the marsh at high tide. In half a mile, the trails rejoin and continue over another long foot bridge to a levee trail leading to Mt. Trashmore. True to its name, this "mountain" is a well-covered landfill.
For the long distance hiker, this trail continues on to the San Leandro Marina, a total distance of 6.2 miles and a great spot to eat lunch before hiking back.