Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Hike Review

• We walked the Newark Slough Trail from the visitor center parking lot in a big loop.

• Parking would have been difficult, but we got lucky with our timing.

• The walk was flat and totally exposed (as expected). The trail encircles a salt evaporation pond, so there is no way trees could prosper. There were a few plants along the way, but they were far and few between.

• The trail was pretty muddy and stuck to the bottom of our shoes, which made the walk much more difficult. The worst parts were in the middle and made us focus on exactly where we were placing our feet.

• Near the trailhead, there were lots of people, but once we got a mile into the trail, there was no one else. For about an hour and a half, we had the trail to ourselves.

• Besides the muddiness, the trails were clean for the most part (it’d be described as pristine if it weren’t for the dog feces in the middle of the trail).

What I Learned

The air was surprisingly fresh given that we were walking in marshlands. It felt good to get outside after being cooped up due to COVID.

What Happened?

5.9 miles, 2 hrs 31 mins, 74 ft of ascent

The girls and I wanted to start off the year with exercise, so we hiked in Fremont after dropping off a few gifts to their uncle, who recently became a father. I chose Don Edwards as I knew the trail would be flat and I thought the views from the middle of the salt evaporation pond would be pretty.

The trail was nice and easy for the most part, but near the end, the girls got pretty tired of the mud and the constant walking (there were also no benches, so the only breaks were standing breaks). But still, they powered through the walk with the promise of milk tea after.

Oh and because it was New Year’s Day, we wished everyone we came across a “Happy New Year!” and that was pretty nice.