Birding the Palo Alto Baylands and Charleston Slough

We see a variety of birds on this trip to the largest tract of undisturbed marshland remaining in the San Francisco Bay,s only about a 55 minute drive from Walnut Creek. We'll make several stops likely to include Charleston Slough, Shoreline Lake, Palo Alto Baylands, and Redwood Shores.

Hike Rating: 1-Easy. We do some walking on flat terrain but drive from one location to the next.

Elevation change: Minor

Leaders: Herb and Randi Long at herblong7@gmail.com 925-948-5113

Meet: Meet at entrance to Palo Alto Baylands on Terminal Boulevard in Mountain View at 8:30 AM.

Directions: If using Google maps, enter “Terminal Boulevard Mountain View, CA.”

Take I-680 South 24 miles to Exit 12 for Mission Boulevard /State Route 262 (second Mission Blvd exit so that you head west on Mission Blvd). Keep right at the fork; follow signs for Mission Blvd West and merge onto CA-262 South/Mission Blvd. Continue through two traffic lights and take I-880 ramp South. In 3 miles, use the right two lanes to take CA-237 toward Mountain View. Connect to US-101 North toward San Francisco. Once on US-101 North, take Exit 400C for San Antonio Road. Turn right on San Antonio. Continue for about 0.4 mile and turn right onto Terminal Road and park. Entrance toPalo Alto Baylands is on the left. There is a bathroom at the entrance.

Drive time is about one hour + 5 minutes from Walnut Creek / Danville.

Bring lunch!

(American Avocets photo by Maren Smith)