Stroll along the wetlands in Marin by the Bay
Days/Nights - N/A Day Hike
Miles - 8
Elevation Gain - 115
Starting Elevation - 0
Ending Elevation - 0
Highest Elevation - 51
Trail Type - Out & Back Dirt/Paved See AllTrails here
The Bay Trail is a planned 500 mile trail that circles the entire San Francisco Bay, running through all 9 Bay Area Counties. Currently 350 miles are completed with an additional 150 miles planned to allow for uninterrupted walking throughout.
Today I walked 8 miles along the section: Petaluma River to McInnis Park
Starting in Hamilton Wetlands, the trail winds around nature protected areas, until it takes a turn out towards San Rafael with Mount Tam straight ahead and views of Marin's other tallest prominent Mountains/Hills - Mt Burdell, Loma Alta & Big Rock. 2 miles in you reach the reclaimed lakes at Las Galinas, which are inhabited by geese, swans and ducks. Continuing on you pass the sanitation facility and start on a quiet paved road towards McInnis Park, which is the turn around point.
There are slight views of San Francisco along the way as well as the East Bay and Mount Diablo.
This is a very easy hike with almost no elevation gain, and it is exposed the entire way. It is not remote and well travelled, so you will pass other walkers and mountain bikers along the way. My favorite time to visit is very early morning, where fog, coyotes, rabbits, are frequent sights, as well as being less travelled and quieter. Despite it not being remote or particularly challenging, I like this hike a lot, and tend to do it when aiming for building up my miles versus elevation.
