Hayward Regional Shoreline

Hayward Regional Shoreline protects about 1,841 acres of salt, fresh, and brackish marshes, seasonal wetlands, and shoreline levees, with five miles of graveled trails for walking, biking, jogging, and birdwatching. Much of the shoreline is restored habitat: Cogswell Marsh, a 250-acre tidal marsh, was reopened to the tides in 1980; Hayward Marsh, finished in 1985, is a 145-acre system of five managed ponds and 15 nesting islands fed by treated wastewater; and Oro Loma Marsh, built in 1997, adds 364 acres of tidal marsh and seasonal wetland.

The levees were first built for salt production, and in the 1850s landings here ferried passengers, salt, and farm goods to San Francisco; at low tide you can still spot old timbers poking out of the mudflats along the trail. Fishing is allowed from the levees but not in the marshes, with a state license for anglers 16 and older. There are benches along the trail but no picnic tables. To protect nesting and feeding birds, dogs are not allowed south of the West Winton Avenue flood control channel.

Staging areas are at the west end of West Winton Avenue and at the end of Grant Avenue off Washington Avenue, both reached from I-880. AC Transit route 86 runs from Hayward and South Hayward BART to West Winton Avenue and Cabot Boulevard, about a 0.7-mile walk from the park.