Point Isabel Regional Shoreline

Point Isabel is best known as one of the Bay Area's busiest off-leash dog parks: special Park District rules let dogs run off leash throughout the shoreline as long as they stay in sight and under voice control and their owner carries a leash (6 ft max). Dogs must be leashed in the parking lots and streets, aggressive dogs must be leashed immediately, and anyone walking more than three dogs, or walking dogs for pay, needs an annual permit. Well over a million people visit each year, most of them with dogs.

The main 23-acre park sits at the west end of Central Avenue in Richmond, with another 20 acres at North Point Isabel across the Hoffman Channel and more than 2.5 miles of San Francisco Bay Trail nearby. Views take in the Golden Gate Bridge, Marin County, and Brooks Island. Birding peaks in fall and winter, when migrating shorebirds join the year-round residents. People also jog, bike, fly kites, windsurf, kitesurf, and launch kayaks from what is a designated San Francisco Bay Water Trail trailhead.

Shore fishing requires a state license, and catches include striped bass, surf perch, jacksmelt, sturgeon, leopard shark, and flounder. To get there, take Central Avenue west from I-580 or I-80 to Isabel Street or Rydin Road; the parking lots are next to Costco and the U.S. Postal Service bulk mail center.