Bay Nature

Good for:

• Bikes
• Birding
• Disabled Access
• Dogs
• Wildflowers

Habitat:

• Forests and Woodlands
• Grasslands
• Riparian

Attributes:

• Transit Accessible

Overview

Dry Creek Pioneer Park is accessible via its twin Garin Park to the north, but the May Sreet entrance is convenient to transit, invites you to picnic in an interesting garden, and requires no entry fee.

This park’s oxymoronic name applies in summer, when the terraced ridges are tawny and oak trees crowded down cracked clay streambeds are the only evidence of moisture. But after fall rains you’ll find lonely trails here crossing and recrossing active waterways edged with willows or climbing steeply to high green ridges with views all the way across Hayward to the bay.

On Tolman Peak Trail you can follow Dry Creek’s south fork for a couple of miles, passing tall sycamores and a surprising cluster of young redwood trees. If you want a grand view and are willing to work for it, keep going—up—to loop around 935-foot Tolman Peak. Other much longer loops are possible, and you will meet more cattle than people on most of them.

Details: Bikes and dogs on leash are permitted. The entrance is actually .3 mile east of Mission Blvd and the bus stop there, just past the Dry Creek Garden. The trail has a few ups and downs and occasionally rough surfacing, but I’d call it wheelchair-useable with good arm strength, assistance, or a power chair.