17 / 32
PHOTO:
A beautiful
section of the San
Francisco Bay
Trail in Tiburon,
California
Factor in the view of the vermillion-orange towers
rising above, the sting of the brisk bay breeze, the din of
bridge vehicle traffic and the conversations going on all
around in a variety of languages, and you have a sensory
experience unlike any other.
What a difference a short ferry ride can make. East
across the bay, the Alameda Point trail is nearly deserted
on a warm weekday morning. At a small public beach, a
woman pitches a rubber ball into the water and watches
as her golden retriever ambles in after it. The Oakland
skyline serves as a distant backdrop as the trail me-
anders from the beach toward the
USS Hornet
aircraft
carrier, which sits at the dock as a permanent museum.
While the peaceful scene differs vastly from the whirl
of activity at the Golden Gate Bridge, the two share an
important similarity: Both walkways are segments of
a 500-mile trail system that will one day link the entire
shoreline of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay.
Diverse Trail, Diverse Uses
From the northern reaches of San Pablo Bay’s wine-
country communities of Napa and Sonoma to the high-
tech bastions of Palo Alto and San Jose to the south,
the San Francisco Bay Trail
( baytrail.org )hugs the inlets,
bluffs and wetlands, linking the distinct communities.
In all, the completed trail will pass through 47 cities
and nine counties. Currently at 350 miles, the Bay Trail is
about 70 percent complete, and newly finished sections
are being added regularly.
To be sure, the trail reflects the differences of its com-
munities: urban to suburban, remote wetlands to bus-
tling ports, unobstructed seaside views to city streets
and alleys. And as diverse as the trail itself is, so too are
the uses it attracts.
“It means very different things to different people
along the route,” says Barry Bergman, manager of trail
development for Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s (RTC’s)
Western Regional Office. For instance, many users view
the trail mostly as a way to commute to work by bicycle
each day. Headquarters of Google and Facebook are
located along the Bay Trail south of San Francisco, he
notes, attracting heavy commuting activity.
Recreation, fitness, wildlife refuges and bird-watching
are among other prime uses along the trail. And for the
throngs of tourists converging on San Francisco year-
round, the Bay Trail serves as a scenic and convenient
conduit to the city’s many treasures. At San Francisco’s
eastern edge, the trail follows the famed Embarcadero
“To a lot of
people,
assets
like the
Bay Trail
are re-
ally what
make the
Bay Area
special.”
Laura Cohen,
Director, Rails-to-
Trails Conser-
vancy Western
Regional Office
ALL PHOTOS: CINDY BARKS
WINTER 2017 RAILS TO TRAILS
15
U N I F Y I N G T H E B A Y