Hiking Coyote Hills Regional Park
Feb. 11th, 2024 09:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerOn Saturday we hiked Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont. It wasn't quite our tradition of hiking on Superbowl Sunday— it was a day early— but the weather was surprisingly clear so we figured maybe we'd hike both Saturday and Sunday.
The drive out to the park is easy. We've visited a few times now. Sometimes we drive across the Dumbarton Bridge on CA-84. From that direction the turnoff for the park comes before you even reach I-880; basically it's as soon as you hit solid land on the east side of the bay. This time we drove up I-880 through Fremont because we wanted to stop for lunch beforehand along the way.
This Saturday the park was busy. We had to wait in a very slow line to enter via a payment kiosk. After that parking was scarce, but we were able to find a spot without having to circle.
We anticipated the hiking trails might be muddy so we packed boots in the car. From the trailhead things seemed pretty dry so we wondered if maybe we'd be happy sticking with our hiking sandals instead. A hiker returning to his car next to us heard us wondering aloud and urged us to wear our boots. "The trails are saturated," he advised.
Indeed there was a huge muddy area less than 1/4 mile in from the trailhead, right where a dirt tracked forked off from the compacted gravel. The photo above shows it. But ironically that was the only area of mud we encountered in over 3 miles of hiking.
We angled up the hillside along the fork to the left in the picture above. After a bit it turns hard to the left and goes up over a saddle between hills with views out over the San Francisco Bay. The best views, though, come as you climb the hills to either side. But before I share those views, it's... turkeys!
There's a gaggle of wild turkeys that I believe live on this hillside in the park. They were here last time we visited, about 2 years ago, too. Though that time there were about 20, while now there are only 3. Maybe that's the difference between visiting before Thanksgiving vs. a few months after. 🤣
In the video you can see the steep climb ahead of us. That's Red Hill, the tallest of the Coyote Hills. The top is a bit shy of 300 feet elevation, which normally wouldn't seem like much— but these hills rise abruptly out of the bay at basically 0 feet above sea level. Standing atop it feels like you've climbed a mountain.
In this view from atop Red Hill looking to the north you can see downtown San Francisco and Oakland. SF is about 30 miles away straight across the water.
There are views across to the South Bay, as well, with peaks like Mt. Umunhum visible in the distance.
It's a great 360° view up here atop the hills. You're surrounded by the SF Bay on three sides, north, south, and west. To the east is... also the bay, basically.
These hills apparently used to be out in the bay. Man-made changes with dredging and levees have created some bits of dry land between the main part of the East Bay and this park. Though even right up next to the park (see picture above) there's not a lot of dry land.... Much of that yellow/brown you see mixed in among the water is reeds and rushes.
The drive out to the park is easy. We've visited a few times now. Sometimes we drive across the Dumbarton Bridge on CA-84. From that direction the turnoff for the park comes before you even reach I-880; basically it's as soon as you hit solid land on the east side of the bay. This time we drove up I-880 through Fremont because we wanted to stop for lunch beforehand along the way.
This Saturday the park was busy. We had to wait in a very slow line to enter via a payment kiosk. After that parking was scarce, but we were able to find a spot without having to circle.
We anticipated the hiking trails might be muddy so we packed boots in the car. From the trailhead things seemed pretty dry so we wondered if maybe we'd be happy sticking with our hiking sandals instead. A hiker returning to his car next to us heard us wondering aloud and urged us to wear our boots. "The trails are saturated," he advised.
Indeed there was a huge muddy area less than 1/4 mile in from the trailhead, right where a dirt tracked forked off from the compacted gravel. The photo above shows it. But ironically that was the only area of mud we encountered in over 3 miles of hiking.
We angled up the hillside along the fork to the left in the picture above. After a bit it turns hard to the left and goes up over a saddle between hills with views out over the San Francisco Bay. The best views, though, come as you climb the hills to either side. But before I share those views, it's... turkeys!
There's a gaggle of wild turkeys that I believe live on this hillside in the park. They were here last time we visited, about 2 years ago, too. Though that time there were about 20, while now there are only 3. Maybe that's the difference between visiting before Thanksgiving vs. a few months after. 🤣
In the video you can see the steep climb ahead of us. That's Red Hill, the tallest of the Coyote Hills. The top is a bit shy of 300 feet elevation, which normally wouldn't seem like much— but these hills rise abruptly out of the bay at basically 0 feet above sea level. Standing atop it feels like you've climbed a mountain.
In this view from atop Red Hill looking to the north you can see downtown San Francisco and Oakland. SF is about 30 miles away straight across the water.
There are views across to the South Bay, as well, with peaks like Mt. Umunhum visible in the distance.
It's a great 360° view up here atop the hills. You're surrounded by the SF Bay on three sides, north, south, and west. To the east is... also the bay, basically.
These hills apparently used to be out in the bay. Man-made changes with dredging and levees have created some bits of dry land between the main part of the East Bay and this park. Though even right up next to the park (see picture above) there's not a lot of dry land.... Much of that yellow/brown you see mixed in among the water is reeds and rushes.
