As a long time Hayward resident, I've spent a lot of time down at the shoreline walking around, watching the birds, and enjoying the wide open views of water and sky. My visits were always to the areas north of highway 92 which have been preserved as park land for many years. I was always curious about the miles of salt ponds and marshes on the south side of the highway which were not open to the public. I was recently reading Bay Nature Magazine and was pleased to discover that this area was now open to the public as Eden Landing Ecological Reserve.
On a Tuesday morning, I had an appointment at Kaiser, Union City, and since I had some free time after I was done, I went looking for this new area. It was also a convenient time since I didn't have my dog, Darby, with me and dogs are not allowed there. I found the small parking area at the end of Eden Landing Road, and walked along a paved road another quarter mile to an area for handicapped parking and kayak launching. I crossed a bridge and began a big loop on levees around salt ponds. It had rained the night before, but the trail was covered with sand, and there was no mud. Soon I came to a viewing area where I could see the remains of historic salt harvesting structures out in the pond. There were a lot of rows of pilings, but I couldn't guess what they had once been used for. I came to a spur trail which leads a half mile or so to a marsh viewing area, but my knee was hurting and I didn't want to add any extra walking. I figured I could come back with binoculars and a telephoto lens and maybe see some interesting birds. As it was, I enjoyed seeing big flocks of sandpipers flying in formation, swooping and turning beautifully. I also saw three big white pelicans nearby in the pond. The odors that I smelled reminded me of past visits to the shoreline. It was quite stinky, but not in a way that bothered me. As I completed the loop at the bridge, I passed a guy with a bike, the only other person out there.
In spite of the pain in my knee, it was a very enjoyable walk, very peaceful and quiet, and I plan to go back again soon.
3.7 miles, no climbing
