Introduction
Access
Trail Description and Views
Views from the Hilltops of the Coyote Hills
Panoramic View from Top of Meadowlark Trail
The Marshes and Lowlands
The No Name Trail
The Shoreline Trail
Go to Coyote Hills - Part 1 - Apay Way to SF
Bay
Go to the Alameda Creek Trail
- Coyote Hills to I880
Go to the Alameda Creek Trail
- Southside from I-880 to Niles Canyon
Go to the Alameda Creek Trail
- Northside From Niles Canyon to I-880
Go to the Alameda Creek Trail
- Northside I-880 to SF Bay
Go to the Hayward Regional Shoreline
Go to the Dumbarton
Bridge
Return
to Bay Trail Guided Photo Tours page
Coyote Hills Regional
Park has a complex network of trails, some paved, some hard-packed
dirt. Most of them are accessible to bicycles. You can park at the visitor
center, which has a museum with exhibits on the human and natural history
of the area. It has park information, including brochures on all the East
Bay Regional Parks. The visitor center area also has restrooms, green lawns,
and picnic areas. Across from it is the Main Marsh. Boardwalk trails lead
over and through the marsh at the water's level. On the north side of the
Main Marsh is a rocky outcropping called Lizard Rock. On the southeast
side of the Main Marsh is a restored Ohlone village, built from reeds and
constructed on an Indian shell mound. The village is fenced-off, but may
be visited on guided tours. At the northeast edge of the Main Marsh, near
Alameda Creek, is the DUST (Demonstration Urban Stormwater Treatment) Marsh.
This 55-acre freshwater marsh is an experiment in seeing if marshlands
can be used to help detoxify stormwater runoff. North Marsh is along the
south side of Alameda Creek west of the DUST Marsh.
South of the visitors center is the Quarry Picnic Area, below a hill covered with rocky tower-like out-croppings. The largest of these is called Castle Rock. Castle Rock can be reached by a steep trail south of the visitors center. West of it is the Dairy Glen campground. South of Quarry and Dairy Glen is the South Marsh. The Meadowlark Trail begins in the center of the park near the junction of the Bayview, Apay Way, and No Name Trails. One leg of the trail is a paved service road that runs up to the top of the hills at the southeast corner of the park. At the top of the hill are facilities that are not part of the park. Another leg of the Meadowlark Trail is a dirt path that runs along the edge of the South Marsh.
The No Name Trail, which is outside the regional park on lands belonging to the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, is a dirt levee trail that heads due west along the salt pond levee from the junction of the Apay Way, Meadowlark, and Bayview Trails. The No Name Trail eventually reaches San Francisco Bay at the junction with the Shoreline Trail. The Shoreline Trail, also on refuge lands, runs along San Francisco Bay for over 4 miles from the mouth of Alameda Creek to the Dumbarton Bridge. Unfortunately, the Shoreline Trail is currently closed due to trail maintenance.
Trails run over the hills. The Coyote Hills are not very high, compared to the East Bay foothills, reaching only 291 feet at Red Hill Summit, but because they are surrounded by flat land for miles, they provide spectacular panoramic views of the Bay Area. The Red Hill Trail runs down the spine of the hills. It is quite steep in places. The Red Hill Trail is crossed by the Nike Trail, the Soaproot Trail, and the Glider Hill Trail.
This is a view east from atop the rocky Coyote Hills from the northern
end of the Red Hill Trail, looking north up Alameda Creek. The Alameda
Creek Trail runs on both sides of the creek. In the background are the
cities of Union City and Fremont. The Alameda Creek Trail ends at Niles
Canyon in the East Bay foothills.
This is a view from the Red Hill Trail, looking across Alameda Creek. Beyond
Alameda Creek are private salt ponds, in the middle of which is 116-foot
high Turk Island. Along the horizon is the city of Oakland.
This is a view across Alameda Creek and the surrounding salt ponds, looking
towards San Francisco. The paved Baylands Trail can be seen below to the
lower left. Emerging from it is the Pelican Trail, running on a dirt levee.
On clear days, the skyline of San Francisco with Mt. Tamalpais behind it
can be seen in the distance beyond the salt ponds and Alameda Creek.
The view southwest from the Red Hill Trail shows the Bayview Trail along
the side of the hills, with salt ponds and the Dumbarton Bridge in the
distance.
This is a view of the huge salt ponds west of the Coyote Hills. The Bayview
Trail runs along the hills below. San Francisco and the Peninsula are in
the distance.
This is a view to the northwest of the Main Marsh, Lizard Rock, North Marsh,
Alameda Creek, and the salt ponds beyond it.
Here is a view of the Main Marsh near the Visitors Center.
This is a view of the DUST Marsh complex and Alameda Creek from Red Hill.
The long channel left of the center of the picture is the final stage
of the DUST Marsh. A closeup view can be seen in the marshes section below.
This is a view south of the trail to the summit of Red Hill, the highest
point in the park at 291 feet. The Nike Trail crosses over at the bottom
of the hill.
Gilder Hill is a popular spot for Flying radio-controlled gliders.
This is a view down from Glider Hill. The visitors center and the Hoot
Hollow picnic area are below in the trees. Castle Rock is on the hill to
the right, with other rock outcroppings on the hill. The Main Marsh and
the main park road are on the left.
This is a steep section of the Red Hill trail leading north up to the Red
Hill summit from Glider Hill.
This is a view of the Dairy Glen camp, South Marsh, and Quarry area.
This is a view south from the last hill at the south end of the Red Hill
Trail. The Apay Way Trail runs along the base of the hills next to the
salt ponds. The broken pipeline causeway is the dotted line in the salt
pond. The long salt pond levee is closed to the public. The two small hills
along the trail with observation points can be seen as peninsulas jutting
into the salt ponds.
Just to the south of the visitors center, a steep trail with wooden steps
leads up to Castle Rock, at 130 feet above sea level.
This is a view of the Meadowlark Trail. The paved part of the trail runs
up the hill. The unpaved section runs along the side of the hill and along
the edge of the South Marsh. The pictures below are a panoramic sweep from
the hilltop near the top of the Meadowlark Trail at around 270 feet in
elevation.
This view runs from the northwest along the salt ponds, bisected by the
No Name Trail, north along the Coyote Hills, and northeast showing the
marshes east of the hills.
This view sweeps around the South Marsh, with the unpaved segment of the
Meadowlark Trail on the lower part of the hills. The hillside to the south
is outside the park boundaries.
This view sweeps around the hills to the south. On top of the hills are
transmitter antennas and a covered water storage reservoir that are not
part of the park. There is also a retired shooting range to the right of
the reservoir. To the southwest, the salt ponds, Apay Way Trail, and Dumbarton
Bridge can be seen.
This final view looks west across the salt ponds. The Apay Way Trail is
below. The peninsula in the salt pond is the second one along the trail
coming north. In the distance is the Dumbarton Bridge and the Bay. The
farthest levee on the salt pond is the Shoreline Trail, which runs to the
start of the Dumbarton Bridge causeway.
This is a view of the Main Marsh from near the Coyote Hills visitors center.
The Main Marsh is a freshwater marsh, lined with reeds and full of water
birds, including large pelicans.
Lizard Rock is a rock formation on the hills north of the Main Marsh.
A wooden boardwalk leads across the Main Marsh. Bicycles are not allowed
on the boardwalks.
There are also observation platforms on the Main Marsh.
This long channel is the final treatment stage in the DUST Marsh. The channel
covers 21 acres and is 5 feet deep. Water travels slowly through this section
to allow natural processes to breakdown pollutants in the stormwater. At
the end of this channel, the detoxified water flows into North Marsh.
There is an Indian shell mound west of the Main Marsh, near the DUST Marsh.
The Ohlone Indians lived in this area long before the white men came. They
fished, hunted, and gathered shellfish in the rich waters of this area.
They left their piles of castoffs, including empty shells, in mounds. The
Indian mound is along the Chochenoyo Trail south of the DUST Marsh. There
are restrooms and drinking water here.
Next to the shell mound is a reconstructed Ohlone Indian village. These
are archaeological sites that are fenced off and not open to the public
except for guided tours. Tours, workshops, and Indian culture demonstrations
are held regularly. Contact the park at (510) 795-9385 for more information.
This is the Quarry picnic area. It is at the base of a hill that has several
large rock out-croppings. The largest is Castle Rock (not shown here).
The Bayview Trail runs between the picnic area and South Marsh. The Muskrat
Trail runs up over the hill to Castle Rock.
This is the Dairy Glen Campground. It available for day use or group overnight
camping. The Bayview Trail runs above it and intersects with the Soaproot
Trail, which runs higher up the hill.
This is a view of the South Marsh, Dairy Glen Campground, and the Soaproot
Trail from the Meadowlark Trail
This is a view of the South Marsh from the middle of the Meadowlark Trail,
taken in October. The marsh is green, while the hills are brown.
This is a closeup view of the South Marsh from the lower Meadowlark Trail.
This was also taken in early October, so the cattails and reeds are tall
and green.
This is a view looking back at the hills. Long islets in the salt pond
provide protected resting spots for water birds.
This is a view north along a rough salt pond levee. Turk Island is in the
background.
This is the type of dredge bucket used to maintain the levees.
This is the Cargill dredge, the wood-hulled Mallard. It uses a clamshell
bucket to scoop mud from the bottom of the salt ponds and deposit the dredge
spoils on the levees to restore them. At the time this picture was taken,
the dredge was working near the No Name Trail.
Currently (as of fall 2000), the junction with the Shoreline Trail is blocked
off due to levee maintenance.
Across the salt pond, the Shoreline Trail along the edge of the Bay can
be seen, with the Dumbarton Bridge behind it.
This is the start of the Shoreline Trail by the end of the Alameda Creek
Trail. The waters of SF Bay are to the right, while the salt ponds by Coyote
Hills are to the left. This trail and salt ponds are part of the Don Edwards
San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
Mudflats covered with cordgrass line the Bayshore.
A levee, not open to the public, branches from the Shoreline Trail to cross
the salt ponds.
In places the shoreline along the Bay is lined with rocks.
There is a large pile of driftwood along the Bay.
The trail turns inland to run around Ideal Marsh at the edge of the Bay.
The trail will run inland of this marsh for about a mile and a half.
The No Name Trail leads straight back to the hills from the Shoreline Trail.
The Shoreline trail turns right and parallels the Bay again.
Long Ideal Marsh, which runs along the Bay next to the Shoreline Trail,
consists of mud terraces topped with pickleweed and crossed by small channels.
After Ideal Marsh ends, the Shoreline Trail runs next to the Bay again
before it reaches the Dumbarton Bridge
The Bayside of the Shoreline Trail is lined with rocks as it heads for
the Dumbarton Bridge.
The Shoreline Trail ends at the Dumbarton Bridge. A path under the bridge
leads to Marshlands Road. See the Dumbarton
Bridge Tour for more information.