Coyote
Hills Regional Park,
East Bay Regional Park District,
Alameda County
In brief:
5.1 mile loop across a marsh, then up and down grassy hills above the bay.
Getting there:
From CA 84 in Alameda County, exit Paseo Padre Parkway/Thornton Avenue (this is
exit 36, the first exit after the toll plaza, traveling east). Drive north on
Paseo Padre about 1 mile, then turn left onto Patterson Ranch Road. Drive about
1.5 miles more, past the entrance kiosk and Quarry Staging Area, to the trailhead
at the end of the road (near the Visitor Center).
Trailhead details:
$5 parking fee (self register at automated fee box when kiosk is unattended);
additional $2 fee for dog admission. Lots of parking in the park (no parking on
Patterson Ranch Road). Drinking water available at the Visitor Center; maps can
be found at the Visitor Center and at various information signboards in the park.
Pit toilets at edge of parking lot, and there are restrooms in the Visitor Center.
There are designated handicapped parking spots, wheelchair accessible portable
toilets, and many trails are wheelchair accessible. There is no direct public
transportation to the park, but you can walk into the park from the AC Transit
bus stop: visit the Transit
Info website for details.
Gas, food, and lodging:
Gas, stores, and restaurants in nearby Newark and Union City. There are no individual
camp sites, but the park does host group camping.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 5.1 mile loop hike is easy, with a total elevation change of
about 350 feet. The elevation at the trailhead is about 10 feet. The high point
is about 270 feet. Almost all of the trails on the featured hike are flat. There
are two very steep but short stretches on Red Hill Trail, but you can skirt the
hills on flat Bay View Trail.
Rules:
About half the trails are multi-use. Some are open to hikers and horses, some
permit hikers and cyclists, and a few are hiking-only. Dogs are not allowed on
every trail described below on the featured hike: they are not permitted on the
marsh trails or at the Visitor Center area. Park is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
April-October, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. October-April.
The Official Story:
EBRPD's Coyote
Hills page.
Park office: 510-795-9385
Map/book choices:
• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Region map to get there.
• Map
from EBRPD
• 
This hike is described
and mapped in 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: San Francisco, by Jane Huber (yup,
that's me, the creator of this website). Order
this book from Amazon.com.
• Afoot and Afield: San Francisco Bay Area, by David Weintraub (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a great map and descriptions of a Coyote Hills
hike.
• East Bay Trails, by David Weintraub, has a good map and descriptions
of 2 Coyote Hills hikes (order
this book from Amazon.com).
• East Bay Out, by Malcolm Margolin, has a good map and provides a
great history of the park (order
this book from Amazon.com).
• 101 Great Hikes of the San Francisco Bay Area, by Ann
Marie Brown (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a simple map and featured hike.
• At the Bay
Trail's website, view some photos of the Bay Trail segment through the park.
Coyote Hills in a
nutshell -- a printable, text-only guide to the featured hike.
• View 74 photos from the
featured hike.
The usual welcome at an 
entry
kiosk in the bay area is from a fee-collecting park employee. On my first visit
to Coyote Hills Regional Park, the kiosk was empty, but just past the entrance,
a gray fox sat 10 feet from the road, basking in the sun. The fox sat near the
edge of the brush and tolerated me snapping some
photos of him. A fox sighting is not an everyday occurrence, and creates high
expectations for the rest of the day. Coyote Hills lives up to any expectations.
The park's sprawling marsh teems with shorebirds, the grassy hills are vibrant
with rabbits and squirrels, and the skies are filled with hawks, seagulls, geese,
vultures, and many other birds. Views from the crest of Red Hill are spectacular
in all directions, featuring the east bay hills (and Garin/Dry
Creek Pioneer parks), Santa Cruz Mountains, and the bay itself. The park is
small enough that it's nearly impossible to get lost, but big enough to keep a
hiker or nature lover from getting bored. With a well-signed trail system, and
plenty of flat paths, it's a good choice for a beginning hiker, or for folks with
small children.
Hikes can be extended out of Coyote Hills, to Don Edwards
San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge to the west and south, and the Alameda
Creek Regional Trail to the east. Inside the park, loops range from easy to the
gentle side of moderate. An under 2 mile circuit through the marsh combines Tuibin,
Chochenyo, and the boardwalk trails. This loop affords great bird watching and
skirts the Ohlone Shellmound. Nearly level Bayview Trail provides a nice 
loop
of under 3 miles, featuring bay and marsh views as it skirts the park's hills.
Any hike that includes Red Hill Trail is sure to get you blood pumping, as the
roller coaster path climbs to a crest and drops sharply to bay level twice.
Be sure to check out the Visitor Center (open Tuesday
through Sunday) for exhibits and information on docent-led hikes. If you visit
on a day when the visitor center is closed, the park is usually pretty quiet,
but when the center is open on a school day you will likely share Coyote Hills
with throngs of schoolchildren.
Coyote Hills Park really shines in late winter.
Short green grass makes it easy to spot jackrabbits in the hills, and the temperatures
are mild. There aren't a ton of wildflowers here, and so spring is perhaps best
spent in the surrounding east bay hills. By late spring the hillside grass is
tall and blonde and poison oak seems to be the only green plant. This is a nice
time to concentrate on the marsh trails, where you might see baby ducklings and
geese. There are few autumn foliage plants in the park, and very little shade.
The featured hike is a circuitous route that I really
like, visiting the marsh, Alameda Creek, and grassland. The 5 mile hike is easily
shortened by omitting the out-and-back segment to the Ohlone Shellmound (of which
it's tough to see much anyway). If you prefer to avoid any hills, you can skip
Red Hill Trail 
and
stay on paved and flat Bayview all the way back to the trailhead. You can extend
the hike with a 1.5 mile loop on Meadowlark Trail, or an out-and-back trek on
Apay Way. Consult the park map for more ideas.
For the featured hike, start at the mouth (eastern
end) of the parking lot. Cross the street and after about 215 feet, two trails
begin on the left. Turn left on signed Chochenyo Trail (the raised boardwalk
section of trail to the right is sometimes flooded, but makes a fine optional
route to the shellmound when clear.)
This broad level dirt path, open to hikers and
cyclists, passes through the marsh, with cattails and reeds lining the way. At
0.27 mile, an unsigned spur trail that connects to Bayview Trail breaks off on
the left side of the trail. Continue on Chochenyo Trail as it sweeps to the
right past an unsigned junction with Lizard Rock Trail at 0.29 mile. Birds
songs fill the air, and at the marsh's edge shy groups of geese, grebes, and mallards
may swim or fly away quickly if they feel threatened by your presence. At 0.46
mile, Chochenyo Trail bends to the right at a signed junction. (If the marsh trails
are dry, you can continue on Chochenyo Trail to the Ohlone Shellmound. On one
visit the trail was sporadically swamped and I went
as far as I could, but turned back when the water reached my ankles.) Turn
right to remain on Chochenyo Trail.
The wide flat trail splits at 0.52 mile, at an unmarked
junction. With such tall plants lining the marsh, it feels a bit like a maze.
Turn left. Many birds splash, flap, and flutter along the fringes of the
marsh, where you might see dock, pickleweed, and New Zealand spinach, all of which
are edible. At 0.75 mile, the trail splits at an unmarked junction. Bear left.
The trail loops around the historic shellmound area, which is fenced. As if to
keep out unwanted visitors, huge stands of poison oak shield any views. At 0.89
mile, near a pit toilet, the trail splits again at an unsigned junction. Bear
right. You'll get a glimpse into the historic area at a locked gate. If you're
interested in a closer look, contact the staff at the park office for information
on tours. At 1.04 miles, you'll reach a previously encountered junction. Bear
left and retrace your steps to the junction with Chochenyo and D.U.S.T. Trail,
at 1.33 miles. Turn right on D.U.S.T. Trail.
D.U.S.T. stands for Demonstration Urban Stormwater
Treatment. According to an information sign at the junction of D.U.S.T. Trail
and the Alameda Creek Trail, this marsh was planned and constructed by ABAG (Association
of Bay Area Governments), the East Bay Regional Park District, and the Alameda
County Flood Control District. The marsh "is a constructed wetland designed
to remove pollutants from urban runoff storm water before it reaches
the San Francisco Bay." Surely this is a system which benefits everyone,
reducing pollution into the bay and providing an excellent outdoor experience
at the same time. The birds sure seem to love the marsh, but unfortunately, so
does poison oak, so look out for large shrubs on the side of the trail. A line
of bird boxes house tree swallows, fast moving birds with white bellies and glossy
blue caps. In late spring, the trail in lined with billowing yellow mustard and
white poison hemlock. At 2.01 miles, D.U.S.T. Trail ends at a signed junction
with the Alameda Creek Trail. Turn left onto the Alameda Creek Trail.
This flat, paved trail is open to cyclists and hikers,
and is part of the Bay Trail. (From the Alameda Creek Stables Staging Area off
Lowry Road you can access the unpaved trail running on the opposite side of the
Alameda County Flood Control Channel, but there's no way to cross back over into
the western edge of Coyote Hills Regional Park.) Alameda Creek Trail is popular
with dog-walkers, joggers, and cyclists, so stay to the right and alert for traffic.
The marshy slopes of the flood control channel are lined with pickleweed, and
populated with many birds, including kingfishers and herons. I watched and listened
on a winter morning as a hawk soared over a bunch of geese and ducks, much to
the noisy displeasure of the birds on the ground. In late spring, look for baby
geese exploring their new world, 
with
their watchful parents nearby. Northern harriers are also common. The trail passes
a picnic area underneath some eucalyptus trees, and reaches a junction at 3.12
miles, just past an interpretive sign about the Alameda Creek. Paved Alameda Creek
Trail continues west into the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife
Refuge, but take the trail to the left as it sweeps gently uphill to a
signed junction at 3.17 miles. Cross the paved Bayview Trail and take the dirt
Red Hill Trail uphill.
The multi-use trail climbs through grassland. In
the late winter, look for suncups, bluedicks, and poppies sprinkled along the
lush green slopes. A surprising amount of fennel grows on the west side of the
hills, providing homes and food for anise swallowtail butterflies -- look for
these pretty yellow and black beauties in March, fluttering about the hillsides,
perhaps accompanied by a few orange and black monarch butterflies. On the east
slope on Red Hill large thickets of poison oak add some autumn color in the last
few months of the year, and then again in the spring, as young rust hued leaves
emerge. A faint path to the left visits a rock outcrop. Red Hill Trail crests
and then drops sharply down to meet Nike Trail at a signed junction at 3.58 miles.
(If you're ready to head home, take Nike to the left and then Bayview right to
the trailhead.) Continue uphill on Red Hill Trail.
This section features a sharp climb, tempered with
a short flat spot near a tree, then another steep grade to the park's highest
elevation. From here you can sit among the red boulders and 
watch
airplanes on their final approaches to SFO, or look out into the bay to the Old
Dumbarton Bridge and think about Harold and Maude. Bayview Trail is visible
downslope to the east. Watch what you touch; poison oak flourishes on the hilltop.
Red Hill Trail dives downhill again. Unsigned Glider Hill Trail departs back to
the trailhead on the left side of the trail at the saddle at 4 miles. Continue
straight on Red Hill Trail.
From the trail on one winter day I watched a huge
jackrabbit scamper back and forth from bush to shrub on the hillside. He was so
large I wasn't sure what he was at first, but those huge black ears gave him away.
Sharp-eyed redtail hawks must have seen him too, because three of them swept in
and scoured the grass for a good shot at him. Vultures trailed behind, hoping
for any leftovers. I (and the hawks, for now) finally gave up and I continued
hiking back uphill, to a rest stop at the picnic table on the hilltop. To the
south the hills roll toward the Dumbarton Bridge Toll Plaza. The south marsh is
visible to the east. Descend on the roller coaster trail one more time, to the
signed junction with Soaproot Trail at 4.14 miles. Turn left onto multi-use
Soaproot Trail.
Rabbits and ground squirrels scamper across
and around the trail as it winds downhill through the grassland. Soaproot Trail
makes a sharp curve and then at about 4.43 miles, ends at a signed junction with
Bayview Trail. Unpaved Quail
Trail begins just to the left of the junction; it heads back to the trailhead.
Turn left, then turn right onto paved Bayview Trail.
The multi-use trail passes Dairy Glen group camping
area, and continues left as another unsigned trail edges around the south marsh
to the right. California sagebrush is the dominant shrub on the hillside. I once
saw two large pheasants threading their way uphill toward the large red rock.
As the Bayview Trail curves to the north, an exposed rock face juts out on the
left side of the trail. Just past that, a spur trail (unnamed, but well-worn and
near a EBRPD sign) cuts over to the Quarry Staging Area. (This is an option, but
with so many paths carved into the hillside in this area, it's probably best to
stick to the official trail shown on the map.) Continue straight.
Bayview Trail enters Quarry Staging Area. Stay on
the paved trail past the portable toilet, then turn left and cross the parking
lot. Near a fire road gate, look for a small Muskrat Trail marker, and
head uphill. This trail, closed to cyclists, climbs past a covered picnic
area. Poison oak is abundant, but also look for toyon, coyote brush, monkeyflower,
California sagebrush, and lupine, which puts forth purple-blue blossoms in late
winter. Before reaching a rock outcrop, the trail splits. (If you want to visit
the big red rock, this trail back to the left along the ridgeline is the least
erosive choice.) Continue to the right on Muskrat Trail past some boulders
defaced with graffiti, then take the unsigned trail to the right downhill.
Stairs make the descent a short and sweet one. In early spring, look for shooting
stars along the trail as you descend to the trailhead.
Total distance: 5.15 miles
Last hiked: Thursday, March 10, 2005
Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page
entry
kiosk in the bay area is from a fee-collecting park employee. On my first visit
to Coyote Hills Regional Park, the kiosk was empty, but just past the entrance,
a gray fox sat 10 feet from the road, basking in the sun. The fox sat near the
edge of the brush and tolerated me snapping some
photos of him. A fox sighting is not an everyday occurrence, and creates high
expectations for the rest of the day. Coyote Hills lives up to any expectations.
The park's sprawling marsh teems with shorebirds, the grassy hills are vibrant
with rabbits and squirrels, and the skies are filled with hawks, seagulls, geese,
vultures, and many other birds. Views from the crest of Red Hill are spectacular
in all directions, featuring the east bay hills (and Garin/Dry
Creek Pioneer parks), Santa Cruz Mountains, and the bay itself. The park is
small enough that it's nearly impossible to get lost, but big enough to keep a
hiker or nature lover from getting bored. With a well-signed trail system, and
plenty of flat paths, it's a good choice for a beginning hiker, or for folks with
small children. 
loop
of under 3 miles, featuring bay and marsh views as it skirts the park's hills.
Any hike that includes Red Hill Trail is sure to get you blood pumping, as the
roller coaster path climbs to a crest and drops sharply to bay level twice. 
and
stay on paved and flat Bayview all the way back to the trailhead. You can extend
the hike with a 1.5 mile loop on Meadowlark Trail, or an out-and-back trek on
Apay Way. Consult the park map for more ideas.
as far as I could, but turned back when the water reached my ankles.) Turn
right to remain on Chochenyo Trail. 
the San Francisco Bay." Surely this is a system which benefits everyone,
reducing pollution into the bay and providing an excellent outdoor experience
at the same time. The birds sure seem to love the marsh, but unfortunately, so
does poison oak, so look out for large shrubs on the side of the trail. A line
of bird boxes house tree swallows, fast moving birds with white bellies and glossy
blue caps. In late spring, the trail in lined with billowing yellow mustard and
white poison hemlock. At 2.01 miles, D.U.S.T. Trail ends at a signed junction
with the Alameda Creek Trail. Turn left onto the Alameda Creek Trail.
with
their watchful parents nearby. Northern harriers are also common. The trail passes
a picnic area underneath some eucalyptus trees, and reaches a junction at 3.12
miles, just past an interpretive sign about the Alameda Creek. Paved Alameda Creek
Trail continues west into the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife
Refuge, but take the trail to the left as it sweeps gently uphill to a
signed junction at 3.17 miles. Cross the paved Bayview Trail and take the dirt
Red Hill Trail uphill.
watch
airplanes on their final approaches to SFO, or look out into the bay to the Old
Dumbarton Bridge and think about Harold and Maude. Bayview Trail is visible
downslope to the east. Watch what you touch; poison oak flourishes on the hilltop.
Red Hill Trail dives downhill again. Unsigned Glider Hill Trail departs back to
the trailhead on the left side of the trail at the saddle at 4 miles. Continue
straight on Red Hill Trail. 
Trail begins just to the left of the junction; it heads back to the trailhead.
Turn left, then turn right onto paved Bayview Trail.