Last Tuesday I had to move my car for street cleaning, so I whipped out my handy Bay Area hiking guide and decided to head over to the Cogswell Marsh Trail at the Hayward Regional Shoreline.
This trail features miles of flat trail perfect for jogging, biking, or walking with a stroller.
Starting point:
View Hayward Area Recreation & Park District: Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center in a larger map
I'd say it took me about 30 minutes to drive out there from the Mission. The trail starts at the Hayward Interpretive Center, which I didn't get to visit because it is only open on weekends.
Hayward Regional Shoreline is home to over 400 acres of restored wetlands, which is important habitat for endangered species of birds. This area is known for birds, and it didn't fail to disappoint, even in the middle of December.
I saw lots of snowy egrets, which flew away when I walked down the trail.
I saw a bunch of cute little marsh wrens.
I saw lots of cool ducks, including some pretty white and brown ones.
A field of Canada geese stared at me intently when I crossed in front of their field.
From the interpretive center, there is pretty much only one way to go. After 1.2 miles you come to a fork. Go left to cross over the footbridge and keep the city in your sights. This will eventually loop back around to the original fork. If you complete this loop and head back, it's 3.6 miles roundtrip.
About halfway through the loop I was pleased to see another cute footbridge branching out in a different direction. I ran across it and continued up onto a plateau, which gave me some nice views of the surrounding area. I probably added another mile or two on by exploring up there, and it was well worth it.
This was where I walked the gauntlet of Canada geese and saw a giant hare. I also noticed a cool little dock down far below me, but I had taken the wrong trail branch to reach it. Next time!
I really enjoyed this trail. It was easy and pretty. I enjoyed walking right along the water and seeing the ground squirrels and birds. Pretty much the whole way I was treated to a nice view of San Francisco. Even though the trail starts right at the base of the bridge next to the highway, you leave that fairly quickly and I definitely got what I was looking for: the sense of adventure, play, and rejuvenation I get from being out of doors.
I would come back to this trail, except I'm not going to soon. I've got 100 more to check out!
In the future I'd like to post more quickly after the hike, so that I have more of a story to tell and some left over exhilaration. And I'd also like to include pictures! When I went on the Cogswell Marsh Trail I hadn't yet conceived of creating this blog. But next time: pictures for sure!
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