The second of two hikes done in the San Francisco Bay area.
My sister and her kids at Quarry Lakes
Fremont, California is many things. The stomping grounds at one time for the likes of explorer Jedediah Smith and the “forty-niners” (the miners, not the football team). Before Hollywoodland lost a few letters in its name and became the center of American movie making, it was this area that was the home of west coast motion pictures, where Charlie Chaplin and Broncho Billy Anderson made their silent films. One thing that Fremont is not is a bustling metropolis. Wide avenues flanked by green foliage, quiet homes, and a lot of remnants of the past is the norm around here.
One of these ghosts of the past is found in the Quarry Lakes Recreational Area. Before the six lakes that make up this landscape were filled, they were quarries which supplied the Union Pacific Railroad with much needed gravel to build the First Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s. Now, these lakes are home to many local and visiting birds, among other wildlife. Lucky for me, the lakes are practically in my sister’s back yard. A few hours before I would be driving home to SoCal, my sister and I (along with stroller-bound Siena and Domenic), would take a hike around the area.
I was hesitant to call this a “hike”. The well maintained paths were on flat terrain, highly trafficked by walkers with their dogs, joggers, equestrians, and mothers with strollers. But I did some research online and discovered that some of the local hiking websites show quite a few “hikes” that match this description. Unlike Los Angeles, with it’s huge urban footprint, the East Bay has created (with a lot of hard work, mind you) many urban getaways for outdoor enthusiasts. The Quarry Lakes, for instance, is a collection of land acquired through purchase, trade, and donation from 1975 to 1992. That’s eighteen years of work to create this 539-acre area for people and animals alike to gather. The park as it looks today was constructed in 1997 and 2000, thanks in part to grants and a bond measures passed in 1988.
Nature in this area is thriving: My sister and I saw red-winged blackbirds, great egrets, Canadian geese, scrub jays, Western grebes, tree swallows, great blue herons, and turkey vultures. We also stopped to smell the wildflowers: large-leaf filaree, bull mallow, wild radish, common dandelions, and artichoke thistle. My sister who isn’t as into bugs as I am, spotted a caterpillar on the path. For the hike, my niece and nephew enjoyed the hike from the comfort of their stroller.
What I learned on the hike:
- My sister does this “hike” every week.
- This wildlife habitat was created thanks to the financial support of the East Bay Regional Park District, Regional Parks Foundation, ChevronTexaco, Alameda County Fish and Wildlife Commission, and the Alameda Countywide Clean Water Program.
- Of the 539 acres that make of this land, 350 acres are underwater.
- This park’s trail network connects to the Alameda Creek Regional Trail, which extends from Niles Canyon all the way to the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge on the San Francisco Bay.
Hike #X Trip GPS Stats:
- Date of hike: June 7th, 2009
- Location: Quarry Lakes Recreational Area, Fremont, California
- Length: 4.3 miles
- Duration: 1 hour, 39 minutes
- Average speed: ±2.6 mph
- Altitude at start: 120 feet
- Altitude min.max: 59/120 feet
This map was made with the data my GPS captured on the hike.
For a more detailed trip report map, check this out.
Photos:
A view over Rancho Arroyo Park looking east
Bull mallow flowers
Quarry Lakes
The BART train goes right by the lakes every 10-15 minutes.
My sister gets credit for spotting this caterpillar on the trail.
Canadian Geese take a rest on the shoreline
A lucky photo capture of a bird about to enter one of the dozens of bird houses built along the lake shoreline.
An outhouse! Really! An old-school OUTHOUSE!
My sister and I wondered why they would go to the trouble of making these signs (which are great) but not mention the children by name (or at least their school, church, or scout troop).
Standing on the BART tracks.
