Upcoming Group Hike on BAYVIEW HILL! October 26th, 2014

Ever wondered about that wild looking hill beside Candlestick Park as you drive into or out of San Francisco on the 101? You know the one. Maybe not by name--Bayview Hill Park--but you've seen the eucalyptus groves, the big craggy rocks, at least peripherally as you travel north or south.

Bayview Hill is a forty-seven acre park and natural resource area. Not only is the place rife with birds, especially raptors, the last stands of the native Islais cherry, a food source for the Ohlone people, grow here, and there's been sightings of the endangered Mission Blue butterfly. Manmade things of note  include WPA walls built in the 1930s, and an Art Deco radio building from 1934.

How can one not be curious of such an AWESOME sounding place? 

Bayview in greener days. Photographer: Chris Carlsson

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26th, 2014

10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
1.5 mile
paved, mostly flat route 

THE HIKE 

Bayview Hill is perhaps surprisingly a great place to walk with kids and strollers: an old road that's closed to cars leads from Key Avenue to the top of the hill, where another road circles the apex. Total mileage is 1.5, more or less.

The initial road is steep, but two-and-a-half year olds, or three year olds, manage it fine. This is great place to bring your strollers. If in doubt, bring it.

The views on a clear day show you every geographical feature in the area, and beyond: McLaren Park, the San Francisco Bay, San Bruno Mountain, Mount Diablo, and San Francisco, looking north.

With a picnic lunch up top, and rests whenever you need it, you go at your pace--there's nothing organized about this beyond a chance to walk with other families at a certain time, with aspirations for a group picnic somewhere.

 Pregnant people and babies welcome! Calling this a "hike" is kind of a misnomer. It's a stroll, a ramble, a jaunt, a slow walk. Three year olds rule the day.

Plan about three hours, but  come and go as you please.

THE DETAILS

• Meet between 9:45 and 10:00 AM at the gated eastern end of Key Avenue (cross street is Jennings). The closest house to our meeting place is 938 Key Avenue( 94124). Parking is a challenge in this residential cul-de-sac, so you might take the first space you can a block away.

• We start walking at 10:15. If I get a text message--my cell is (415) 577-7934--that you're running late, I can stall til 10:20 or so. :-) If you're very late don't worry, just head uphill on foot. There's no way to get lost on one road.

• Picnic somewhere on the southern or western side of the hilltop. Bring your food and water. 

Bayview in the 20s. From Found SF.org.

 DIRECTIONS TO THE MEETING SPOT

KEY AVE & JENNINGS

Public Transportation:

• T 3rd light rail stops a couple blocks away

Southbound 101:

• Exit 3rd Street
• Follow signs for 3rd Street/Bayshore Blvd N
• Stay right at the fork and follow signs for 3rd St/Bayshore Blvd S
• Left on Bayshore Blvd
• Continue on 3rd St
• Right at Key Ave

Northbound 101:

• Exit 429B/3rd Street
• Right on Key Ave

WEBSITES ABOUT BAYVIEW HILL

SF Park and Rec:

http://sfrecpark.org/destination/bay-view-park/

SF Natural Areas:

http://sfnaturalareas.org/sites/5

Found SF:

http://foundsf.org/index.php?title=Bayview_Hill

Bay Nature Magazine:

http://baynature.org/park/bayview-hill/

Hope you can join the fun, and feel welcome to bring others, or spread the word. The more, the merrier!

Cheers,
Jessica and Marshall
(parents of a 5 y.o. and twin 16 month olds)

Upcoming Hike! Bayview Hill in San Francisco--11/16/2013

Back by popular demand---the hike on a hill with yo' baby or kid!! This is a good one: stroller friendly, views from Mount Diablo to San Bruno to Mount Tamalpais, and probably a place you've never been to before in San Francisco.

Bayview Hill

November 16th, 2013

On top of Bayview Hill

• Meet at the east end of Key Avenue (cross street: Jennings)
• 9 am to 12 noon. Try to arrive by 8:45 to factor in the limited parking on Key Avenue. 

Bayview Hill in San Francisco is a great place to walk, especially with a fun group of kids and adults. There is a short distance (less than a quarter mile) uphill, on a wide, paved, pedestrian-only road. Once we reach the top of the hill, there is a flat, circular road---long abandoned, gravelly, and slowly being broken by plants--of no more than half a mile.

Bayview Hill, a 44-acre park, has an interesting history, and is a significant designated natural resource area in our city. The last stand of Islais cherry, a food source for the Ohlone indigenous people, still grows here, as do rare lupine plants that attract very special butterflies, like the Mission Blue. You can often see raptors--hawks and kestrels--flying overhead, or in the trees. There are also wall and staircase remnants of the WPA (Works Progress Administration) from the 1930s, and an Art Deco radio tower building from 1934.

Pack a lunch, water, and dress in layers. We'll still walk if it's light rain (but the forecast looks fine).

If you're in doubt about bringing your baby, rest assured: our eldest came here when she was 13 days old, and our newest--six-month-old twins--are coming up here for their first time.

For more information about Bayview: http://hillbabiessf.blogspot.com/2009/10/nearly-secret-hike-bayview-hill-of-san.html

Download a brochure with map here: http://sf-recpark.org/ftp/uploadedfiles/wcm_recpark/Volunteer/Brochures/BayviewHill.pdf

Directions to the Meeting Location
Key Avenue & Jennings

Public Transit:

• T-3rd Light Rail
• CalTrain, Bayshore Station

Heading south on 101:

• Exit towards Cow Palace/3rd Street
• Follow signs for 3rd Street/US 101 N/Bayshore Blvd N
• Stay right at the fork, follow signs for 3rd Street/Bayshore Blvd S
• Left on Bayshore Blvd
• Continue on 3rd Street
• Right at Key Ave

Heading north on 101:

• Exit 429B/3rd Street
• Right at Key Avenue

View Larger Map

Ten AWESOME hikes in the southeastern part of San Francisco

McLaren Park's southside

The following hikes are within city limits, so you could combine several in one day, or fan them out through the long weekend. This is a partial list, and as a local who lives in Visitacion Valley, I lean towards introducing hikes within the southeastern quadrant of this city. Here there's sunshine more often than nought, less people and dogs on the trails, stunning views, and perhaps most exciting, native species that have not been eradicated, like in the more groomed parts of the city.

On Bayview Hill

1. Bayview Hill -- It's springtime now and the hill is covered with long green grass and patches of wildflowers, and hawks soar overhead. Enter on Key Avenue, walk uphill on the fire road to a one-mile loop at the top. You won't be disappointed. Look for lupine flowers (don't pick them!) and the Islais cherry, a food source for the Ohlone people, and one of the last stands of this endemic plant remaining in San Francisco. You could combine this hike with Candlestick Point, the Visitacion Valley Greenway (stopping on Leland Avenue for refreshments), and/or McLaren Park.

Trail off Ervine; McLaren Park

2. McLaren Park's southern slope -- There are two humble entrances that I recommend; the first is at the intersection of Wilde and Ervine where a concrete path meanders up to an old, defunct observation tower at the first peak; the second is a narrow dirt trail at the end of Ervine where coyotes wander and the hill slopes precariously, and excitingly, to either side of the path. The views are amazing, and perhaps one of the best times to visit is at sunset, or even when the moon is rising over Bayview Hill to the east. You and your friends will be amazed at the tranquility of the scene, and fall in love with San Francisco all over again. You could combine this hike with finding McLaren Park's labyrinth and/or the Visitacion Valley Greenway. 

Visitacion Valley Greenway

3. Visitacion Valley Greenway -- Most city locals still haven't heard about these parks, but they are perhaps the most beautiful in the city. Start at Hans Schiller Plaza on Leland Avenue, and walk uphill, passing through the Greenway's many connected parks that were once barely used, overgrown DPW land. Now there is a community garden, an herb garden, a children's garden, a native plant garden, and more. You could easily combine this hike with McLaren Park's southern slope and/or Bayview Hill. 

Candlestick Point

4. Candlestick Point -- Come here and imagine what it was like a hundred years ago when oysters were still good to eat from these waters. You'll find birds, and sometimes seals, and the quiet beaches are good for relaxation and introspection. You could combine this hike with India Basin, Bayview Hill, Heron's Head, and/or McLaren Park. 

Marshland along Heron's Head

5. Heron's Head Park -- This long stretch of land licks out onto the bay where seals bark and seabirds soar, and you are so close to the big ships you can see people on their decks. Heron's Head is an amazing place that shows what humans can do to recover blighted land and restore the orginal marshland, or a near equivalent. Check out the off-the-grid headquarters near the bathrooms at the start. Also, across the street from the parking lot is a native plant nursery that should be on every plant-lover's map. You should and could combine this hike with a walk to India Basin, which is visible across a short bay, and accesible by a dirt trail along the perimeter.

Pickleweed at India Basin

6. India Basin -- One of the last remaining vestiges of San Francisco marshland, and hallelujah, it is coming back. The powers that be are creating the Blue Greenway, which is essentially going to be a walking and bicycling area on the southeastern edge of San Francisco. Ultimately this will mean more people, but also more awareness for the natural beauty of the marshland, the birds that use it, and the ability to clean (t a limited extent) polluted waters that are our Bay. India Basin is a great place to wander around and identify pickleweed, for example, which is an edible plant normally (but don't eat it growing along the SF Bay, please). You can easily walk from here to Heron's Head. 

"Secret" trail up Bernal Hill

7. Bernal Hill -- The doggie folks have adopted this as their hill, but there is still room for wildlife. My 70-year-old mother hiked there the other day and saw a five foot snake with its head down a gopher hole. And on last year's winter solstice I sat at the peak where a klezmer band played to an audience of three as thick tongues of fog rolled across the city on either side of us.

8. Crocker Amazon -- Technically this is a separate park from McLaren, but you could fool me. If you go to the end of Dublin Street, or off of Moscow in the Excelsior, you can bypass the athletic fields and find the gem of a community garden, but further in is the absolutely beautiful park. There are trails lacing the hillsides, and walking right into McLaren Park is probably inevitable and highly recommended. It would be silly to not combine this hike with adventuring throughout McLaren Park, and if you are ambitious you could wind your way through the Visitacion Valley Greenway and end up on Leland Avenue for refreshments.

Labyrinth of McLaren

9. The labyrinth of McLaren Park --  The labyrinth is made of stone and love, and sits upon perhaps the highest part of the park. If you want to find it, you will. No more directions needed. Blessed be. 

Trail off of Arkansas Street

10. Potero Hill -- It is with hesitation that Potrero Hill is included as a hike, as it's not so wild, but I did grow up in this neighborhood and my heart remains on these streets that the 48 Quintara drives across, on the nearly hidden staircases, and on the two parks that have always been a refuge in my teenage years: Snake Park (officially McKinley Square), which runs along the curviest part of Vermont Street; and the unpaved parts of the Potrero Hill Recreation Center, off of Arkansas Street (which has just had a gentrified facelift that will thrill all lovers of playgrounds). But the best little area to hike on this hill is the wildish open space along Carolina and 23rd Street. Right now the grass is green with spring, but come Indian summer there still might be kids with pieces of cardboard who slide down the steepest part of the hill.  

On top of Corona Heights

 11. Corona Heights -- This is technically not in the southeastern quadrant, so we will consider this the odd man out, but not to be ignored in a list of great hiking spots with San Francisco. Like giant teeth poking out of the top of the hill, Corona Heights is a great destination with its 360-degree view that makes you feel like you are in the center of the city. This would be a great place to bring a date at night (a date who likes to walk, drink out of bag, and breath fresh air instead of perfume), where you could canoodle and notice how much the lights of city look like stars. Or come here in the day with a kid and throw down a blanket to have a picnic and cloud gaze. You could shake a stick at the Randall Museum, on its lower flanks, one of the best museums in this city, replete with native animals, and free to boot.

Lupine flowers in McLaren Park, found on the trail off of Ervine on the southern slope.

The Nearly Secret Hike: Bayview Hill of San Francisco

           Anyone cruising north into San Francisco on the blighted 101 freeway will notice a wind-swept, semi-wooded hill pressed against the bay, shadowing Monster Park Stadium, looking desolate, wild, and unexplored. This is the forty-four acre Bayview Hill in the too often-overlooked southeastern quadrant of San Francisco. Some of its best features are the panoramic views of the city, sweeping from Twin Peaks to downtown to the Bay Bridge, Mount Tamalpais, Mount Diablo, San Bruno Mountain, and the glistening expanse of the bay. Given its isolated location—although ironically in plain view of thousands of passing motorists—and a single access road, Key Avenue, this is a truly secret hike; since it is not a popular walkway, it is one of the most diverse natural resource areas in the city.

The Baby Factor

      There is a one-mile hike that circles the top of the hill; the “trail” is an old paved road that a chunky-wheeled stroller could manage. Although you’ll begin with a steep uphill for a quarter mile, my husband and I hiked it with a thirteen-day-old baby in a sling. Sport strollers with chunky wheels could manage just fine. We encountered a small family with a six-year-old girl (intensely curious about peeking at our baby!) who hiked like a champion. Given the isolated location of the park and its infrequent visitors, I recommend that at least two adults hike together. People tend to allow their dogs off leash, but the two dog owners we encountered leashed their pooches when they saw my husband, baby, and I coming up the trail.

History

Bayview Hill is made of broken bedrock and silica rich mud interlayered with beach sand buried and baked to form chert and sandstone layers. Before the Spanish arrived, this was the stomping ground of native Ohlone people and home to grizzlies, elk, wolf, and deer. Tenuous reminders of these days are evident in native bunchgrasses that have survived the centuries, like California brome (Bromus carinatus) and June grass (Koeleria macrantha), which elk and deer ate. The hill became a park in 1915, but the city has sliced and diced it, shoveling away large sections for Monster Park, the football stadium to the east, and the dump to the west across the freeway. Current erosion from the days of rock quarrying continues to threaten certain sections of the park, mostly in the northern area.

Your Day Begins

Start your day by packing picnic food, water, sun protection, and hiking gear since you won’t find stores, restaurants, or restrooms up there. The closest public bathroom is in Candlestick Point Recreation Area (drive down Key Avenue, turn right on Jennings Street, right on Jamestown Avenue, driving along the football stadium until reaching Candlestick Point on the other side) or at Gilman Playground.  My husband and I merely changed diapers en route to the top of Bayview Hill, sitting in the shade of blue gum eucalyptus.     

There is one paved, circular road (which I call the “trail”), accessible by car for park officials but traversable by foot for others. Access it by driving up Key Avenue to the car barrier, park, and start your hike. You’ll go uphill for a quarter mile or so; stop to look over your shoulder at the unfurling view, take photos, notice the solitude, the blue scrub jays in the oak trees. You’ll reach a forest of blue gum eucalyptus and pines on the crest, and there’s a three-quarters of a mile loop around the apex of the hill. On the south side you'll find a snag, a large, dead tree on the top of a rise; this is a good opportunity to discuss with an older child how dead trees provide vital habitat for many insects and birds like woodpeckers and nuthatches. Watch for the relics of old staircases and retaining walls built by the WPA decades ago, while being conscious of the fragile plant and animal species, and treading carefully through the different habitats of grassland, forest, and scrub. If you charge down unofficial trails with eyes half-shut, you could bowl into patches of poison oak.

Animals

            Bayview Park is home to many animals, including the typical San Francisco raccoons, mice, pocket gophers, striped skunks, and Virginia opossums. Lizards and salamanders slither about, and you might see several harmless snakes basking in the sun, or eeling through the grasses like garters—maybe even the Pacific ring-neck snake, which diets on earthworms and the like, and whose tail corkscrews when it is threatened. If lucky, you might see the endangered Mission Blue butterfly (Icaricia icarioides missionensis), with blue or brownish wings bordered in black, fluttering on one of the lupine plants it needs for survival. More common is the small Acmon Blue butterfly with black spots and an orange splash on its delicate, silvery-blue wings.

            Bird watching is quite good with the likelihood of spying various raptors, including great horned owls, noisy scrub jays, and kestrels. A positive aspect of the plentiful blue gum eucalyptus trees on the apex of the hill is that they provide nesting for several species of hawk.  There are also smaller birds such as sparrows, meadowlarks, and wrens; goldfinches and nuthatches breed here.

Vegetation

There is plenty of plant life to appreciate. Besides the ubiquitous, invasive blue gum eucalyptus trees, you can find Coast live oak, mostly in the southeast part of the park. Seek out the native, sensitive Islais cherry (pronounced is-lay, the Ohlone word for cherry) with coin-shaped, serrated-edged leaves.

If you adventure here in the spring or summer, keep watch for the rare coast larkspur (Delphinium patens), a sun-loving perennial with violet colored, star-shaped blossoms. According to San Francisco Recreation and Parks, Bayview Hill is the only place left in the city where you can find it. Also look for San Francisco collinsia (Collinsia multicolor), the San Francisco Blue-Eyed Mary, an endemic plant that has been destroyed in other local habitats. It’s a shade-loving herb with serrated leaves and clusters of pale lavender, multi-lobed flowers which bloom in the spring. You find it in the southwestern section of the park. At the trailhead on Key Avenue, there is a waterproof chart of wildflowers that bloom in the spring here. 

Bayview Hill is a wonderful place to hike and picnic; you can imagine yourself in an eagle’s aerie, lifted above the traffic and chaos of the city. Hopefully the native plants and animals will survive and thrive in the future; for now, appreciate them with meditative awareness and share this park with people you love. Come here seeking open land, plants, and animals—not people or conveniences.

What and Where?

Bayview Park Brochure:

http://www.parks.sfgov.org/wcm_recpark/Volunteer/Brochures/BayviewHill.pdf

San Francisco Recreation and Parks Natural Areas Program:

http://sfnap.org/n_area/locator/se.html 

Candlestick Point State Recreation Area (where you’ll find a public restroom):

http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=519
Gilman Playground:
(Giants Drive at Gilman, across from Monster Park)

Directions 

Heading south on 101:

-Exit towards Cow Palace / 3rd Street

-Follow signs for 3^rd Street / US 101 N / Bayshore Blvd N

-Stay right at the fork, follow signs for 3^rd Street / Bayshore Blvd S

-Left on Bayshore Blvd

-Continue on 3^rd Street

-Right at Key Avenue

Heading north on 101:

-Exit 429B / 3^rd Street

-Right at Key Avenue