Bay Trail to Point Richmond

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Today’s ride out on the Bay Trail will lead us to Point Richmond for lunch at Little Louie’s. The group meets up at the foot of the Bike/Ped Bridge on Bolivar and Addison at Aquatic Park in Berkeley. Water and restrooms are available at the south end of the park.

The Aquatic Park provides a wonderful habitat for birds and aquatic life. I see plenty of ducks, a few White Egrets and even a Grey Pelican. It’s an awesome sight to see the pelican swooping and diving for fish in the water. I also notice a Pit Bull dog training class taking place in the adjacent enclosed parking lot.

We hop on the Pedestrian/Bike Bridge and head north on the Bay Trail that parallels I-80 Frontage Rd. We make a left on Gilman St to go up the backside of Golden Gate Fields. The short climb to the upper parking lot takes us up and over to the lower parking lot. The views of the Bay and beyond are fantastic!

The parking lot exits on Buchanan St in Albany. Getting on the Bay Trail from there is a bit tricky; you need to make a sharp left back onto the bike path at the traffic light. Watch for cars-this is a high traffic area!

We stay on the Bay Trail and cross Central Ave to continue on towards Pt Isabel. The Trail continues along Marina Bay to the Yacht Harbor and Ford Point. We ride pass the Craneway Pavilion and take Harbour Way to Cutting Blvd. We cross Canal Blvd to S Garrard Blvd to Richmond and Railroad Ave.

We arrive in Point Richmond for lunch at Little Louie’s. The rear patio has plenty of outdoor seating and space to park all the bikes.

After lunch, the route continues through the Tunnel towards to Miller-Knox Park. We stay on Dorman Dr to Brickyard Cove and ride pass the Pt Richmond Yacht Harbor. We take a left onto Sandpiper Spit for an out and back tour through the gorgeous waterfront homes.

The climb up Seacliff Dr drops us down to Canal and Cutting Blvd. We retrace the route back to the Bay Trail and make our way back to Point Isabel. We pass the Doggie Park and ride the short Costco loop back out to the main trail back to Golden Gate Fields.

The ride along Frontage Road takes us back up and over the Ped/Bike path to Aquatic Park.