Near the foot of the San Mateo Bridge, Hayward Regional Shoreline is a wide, flat stretch of marsh and levee that the East Bay Regional Park District calls 1,841 acres of salt, fresh and brackish water marshes, seasonal wetlands and public trails. It reaches north to the San Lorenzo shore.

Three marshes

  • Cogswell Marsh: A 250-acre tidal marsh restoration finished in 1980. Once the tide was let back in, it quickly became a salt marsh, the district says.
  • Hayward Marsh: A 145-acre fresh and brackish marsh finished in 1985. It is unusual because its freshwater comes from treated wastewater. Its five ponds have 15 islands where many birds nest.
  • Oro Loma Marsh: A 364-acre tidal marsh built in 1997, with seasonal wetlands and higher ground around it.

Salt history

Levees were first built here to make land for salt production, and landings opened in the 1850s to ferry people, salt and farm goods to San Francisco, according to the park district. At low tide you can still see old landing timbers sticking out of the mudflats.

Wikipedia, citing Bay Nature, says Ohlone people gathered salt crystals here before the 1850s. The first known commercial harvester was a Scandinavian sailor named Josh Johnson. In 1872 the land was sold to Andrew Oliver, whose family's salt works left traces that can still be seen along the trail.

Wildlife

The shoreline is home to endangered species, including the salt marsh harvest mouse, the California clapper rail and the western snowy plover, according to Wikipedia. The park district has two birding events on the calendar: Monday Birding on Nov. 2 at 9 a.m. and Bay Bird Mornings on Nov. 15 at 8 a.m.

Visiting

  • The park is open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Gates are open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. all year. Parking is free.
  • The main entrance is at 3050 West Winton Ave. From I-880, exit at West Winton and head west. A second staging area is at the end of Grant Avenue in San Lorenzo.
  • AC Transit line 86 runs from Hayward and South Hayward BART stations to West Winton Avenue and Cabot Boulevard, about a 0.7-mile walk from the park.
  • Dogs are not allowed south of the West Winton Avenue flood control channel.
  • There are no picnic tables, only benches along the trail. You may fish from the levees but not in the marsh areas, and anyone 16 or older needs a state license.