Family Bike Ride, Bayview Trail, Coyote Hills Regional Park

The 3.5 mile, paved Bayview Trail in Coyote Hills Regional Park is perfect for the beginning cyclist.  I consider a good bike route for my son to be relatively flat, separate from cars, and under five miles.  This trail seemed about right.  My four-year-old had a little trouble with a slight hill at the beginning of the ride (he had to get off and push his bike up the hill), but after that it was relatively flat.  The weather was breezy today, which added a little more challenge.

Beginning from in front of the Visitor Center, the Bayview Trail loops around the Coyote Hills.  Along this trail, you’ll have great views of the two marshes in the park (the Main Marsh and the North Marsh), the hills within the park, and the San Francisco Bay.  Today we enjoyed excellent views of downtown San Francisco and Palo Alto across the bay.

You’ll find a trail map at the bottom of the Coyote Hills web page, as well as driving directions and information about the park:  www.ebparks.org/parks/coyote_hills.  There is a $5.00/vehicle entry fee.

Coyote Hills Regional Park is located in Fremont, near the Dumbarton Bridge, allowing easy access from both the East Bay it’s located in and the South Bay.  Usually when I visit this park, I focus on exploring the main marsh or hiking in the hills.  The park district has built a beautiful network of wood paths over and through the wetlands.  Other attractions here are the visitor center, the bird and butterfly nectar garden, and an Ohlone  village.  We visit this park often, so I’ll write about these other features in more depth in the future.

Here’s a picture of my boy, approaching the car at the end of our ride today…