Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge

This wildlife refuge accomplishes a dual mission also including public education and recreation. I commend the African-​American fish & wildlife serviceman who was operating the Environmental Education Center for his generous explanation about how the Fish & Wildlife Service is helping to manage sea-​level rise and subsidence in the various walled-​off ponds along the bayshore.
We arrived all the way from Fremont barely touching any freeways by stopping at Pacific Commons Shopping Center and at Antec in southern Fremont to plug in the Prius for electricity. Fremont Blvd., McCarthy Blvd., and Zanker Road were all it took to get to this unexplored niche in the South Bay. Along the way, we passed the San Jose Santa Clara Wastewater Treatment Facility (yes, an aroma by that plant but no aroma in the outfall stream out toward San Francisco Bay), the Los Esteros Dump/​Materials Handling Facility (has an EV charger), and the Newby Island Dump/​Materials Handling Facility at Dixon Landing Road. Even passing the Tesla factory and car sales facility on the way home was interesting. All very educational.
We had signed up for a volunteer-​guided hike (3.5 miles). The Environmental Education Center was much more than we expected with a medium-​sized parking lot. Probably due to budget restrictions, the gates were going to close at 4:30 and probably had not opened until later after sunrise.
We knew coming in that a hike starting at 10 a.m. would have serious sun beating down; so we wore good sunhats. The volunteer Steve Stolper who led the guided hike applied his sunscreen from a small bottle just before departing. The first mile of the hike consisted of many stops for a variety of wildlife, for a hawk, for barn swallows nesting under a bridge, for enormous flocks of pelicans, for cormorants (those can be seen anytime by crossing the San Mateo Bridge eastbound looking at the power-​line towers), and for both great egrets and for snowy egrets. On this trip, I tasted the pickleweed which had never seemed edible at the Fremont unit of the SFBNWR.
Another benefit of the hike is that vast regions are visible, including most of the south bay including hi-​tech office buildings, several dump mounds, and even off in the distance the hill near Coyote Hills at the SFBNWR in Fremont. Also visible in the distance were the large salt mound at Cargill Salt in Newark, Mission Peak, and even Niles Canyon in Fremont. Amtrak trains running from Fremont and points east into San Jose ran adjacent to part of the Mallard Slough («slew») Trail, with a vista observation car noticeable on one of the passing trains.
The volunteer kept us moving rapidly, so rapidly that we missed a chance to stop and view at some of the observation areas along the way. On returning, we passed a well-​vegetated wetland that is the outfall from the San Jose Santa Clara Wastewater Facility.
On returning there were a lot of welcome facilities including shade, restroom, and water fountain at the Environmental Education Center. Some group was using an adjoining picnic shelter.
I think that the taxpayers are getting much more than their moneys worth for the management of this margin between the land and the SF Bay.

Great place to see wetlands and their associated bird species.

Such a great place to have a field trip. The kids learn so much about wild life and the environment at the center and get to do alot of hands on activities which is great. I guess the only downfall to the center is that they don’t have alot of volunteers I guess you can say because as the chaperones we had to «teach» the group that we were with. Other than that the facility is great.

Great place to learn natural habitat in SF Bay. I A good place to take children or Scouts to break from the monotonous Saturday afternoon of movies, park or playing video games at home. I took a Webelos Scout Troop on a Saturday field trip and everyone enjoyed and learned a lot about natural habitats and a little history of the SF Bay. The Park Ranger Julie is very knowledgeable, patient and courteous with the Scouts and took them on a walking tour around the marshes. Answered politely on every question the Scout thrown into her from Birds to plants and animals species that’s now living there. I didn’t know that pickleweed can be eaten, however they are endangered plants. There should be more Park such as this one that serves it’s purpose preserving natural history and wildlife habitats to enjoy for generations to come.

Avoid the crowds and come to the tranquil spot on the most Southerly end of the San Francisco Bay. The air is fresh here and there are several agreeable walks you can talk along the wetlands. In particular definitely stroll along the wooden platform over the wetlands and water where occasional signs point out wildlife facts and stats. Gates close around 4:30 so don’t be temped to wander too far at dusk or you may get stuck.

Great place for bird watching! I live near here so I’ve been many times, but it’s behind a big dump but it almost never smells bad. There is no kayak launch here and no boating allowed. There are long trails here. Bring a nice camera. No fees. Beautiful sunsets. There’s a huge amount of pelicans, gulls, stilts, egrets, avocets, sandpipers, heron, you name it. There are large hares and small rabbits in the bushes on the trails to the Visitor center… which is a nice, clean, and fairly new building. The gates close pretty early in the evening and later afternoons, but there’s small dirt parking lot in front of the gate that can fit about 6 – 8 cars… usually always a spot, not many people here at this park.
I don’t know the crime statistics, but would not recommend being by yourself here because it’s a bit creepy since very few people are there and anybody could harm you without anyone seeing… I’ve seen some drinkers, gang-​looking guys with face and neck tattoos wearing bandanas (if that means something?), and stoners in the small dirt parking lot by the gate and some strange and mischievous looking characters pulling up around sunset by themselves… no one has every bothered me and my husband, but as a female going alone it’s probably not a good ideal… but that can be said about a lot of parks in the bay area.

A flat trail around a marsh. I didn’t expect much except a trip to Drawbridge, and let’s see if I can get to the dliapidated buildings. Boy, was I surprised!
You never forget that you’re in the Bay Area. You’re always within eyesight of the tech buildings on First Street, and within earshot of the San Jose airport. But it all seems so far away, like you’re transported to another world.
If you’re a birder, this is paradise. I saw lots of them swimming in the marsh, sitting on mud flats eating breakfast, flying fast in a bunch, standing around cawing. There are also geese wandering around on the trail, not scampering if people come within a few feet. I got a lot of bird pics on my camera, and I don’t care much about birds, but there were so many photo ops. Several rabbits on the south side of the visitor center.
Okay, but what about the smell? I expected a stench, and got none. It smells like San Francisco Bay, doesn’t knock you out.
Not a good place to jog; you’ll keep stopping to see the wildlife ;-)
The Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge is a fascinating place to visit, and we are blessed that it’s so close to the biggest city in the Bay Area. It’s worth a visit.
(Oh yeah, I did NOT go to Drawbridge. I saw the remaining houses and barn from across the slough, and that’s about it. After trying to get to the railroad track at the end of the trail, I gave up and said «oh, why bother?»)

There is a bizarre feeling about this place, and I always am drawn to things that are a bit «off». Driving past a dump in order to get here makes me think perhaps where mobsters would like to «take care» of things on their way to work. (Do mobsters even work?) Anyway, once you approach the refuge it suddenly gives you the feeling that you are in a school bus heading out for a field trip.
Wonderful visitor center and a good amount of parking. As you head toward the back of the visitor center you walk along a raised platform that sits a couple feet above the marsh. We were first met with a couple of black stilts chattering away and making a lot of noise … at us! I see a tiny baby scurrying behind one of the parents, and they are still vocalizing their disapproval at our presence.
Since we arrived on a day that the refuge closed early, we didn’t stray too far off. We found a small dock that sat right along the water, and grabbed our binoculars to birdwatch. Mallards, Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy Ducks, American Avocets were a few birds we saw in the short amount of time we spent there.
We will definitely make this a regular stop to birdwatch and walking.

Wonderful State park that’s also a wildlife refuge. This place is a bird lover’s paradise where just about every type of water fowl in the BA can be seen here; I’d go over the whole list of the one’s I’ve seen but that would be boring and ruin some of the surprise. One of my favorite features of this park is the Old Skool educational center. This place brings back such memories of elementary school field trips. It’s like a walk back in time. Ahhh. good times.good times…
There’s lots of walkways that take you out to observe the various marshes and wetlands that surround the park. There’s also a trail head to the much vaunted Bay Trail.
Unfortunately my review can’t do this place justice. So, come out and don’t forget your camera and binoculars. You’ll thank me later.

I just went there. This place is an absolute delight to behold. I have been living in the immediate proximity of the refuge for approximately a year (see my existential woes in my review of Bella Vista, the overpriced, moldy, extortionist dump of an apartment complex, but let us not spoil our mood with such thoughts for now).
My first encounter with this was last year, when I got lost while driving back to Walnut Creek via 237. I believe I couldn’t make it through the clogged exit — anyone who drives into the freeway during rush hour (which is between 4 and 6 in the evening) knows what a nightmare it can be to get to the freeway, metering lights and all — and got shunted off into Zanker. At that time, my only thoughts were to make it to the freeway in one piece. This apprehension stemmed from the fact that I was at that time a new and nervous driver. Let us not even get into why I even took the Zanker road exit. We all know that the best way to get to 680 is not via 237, but directly from Montague.
Anyway, I did see a biker there. It was easy to guess that this was a good place to ride your bike. Nevertheless, it has taken me one whole year to find it. Yesterday, I scouted the Alviso and Zanker ends of the bay with a friend, and lo and behold, I rode my bike there today. It is difficult to describe it in words. All I can say is that you are in total solitude, and the views are, needless to say, panoramic, and it is very sparsely visited (which is of course, a good thing).
It took about half an hour to reach the place. I took the Lick Mill to Tasman to Zanker route while going. But while coming back, it became apparent that one could just take the trail that goes parallel to 237, which goes by the name of Holger way (it contains the Target and Chipotle malls), and then dart into Tasman via North First Street and Vista Montana.
The highlight of park is the boardwalk plank that goes over the marsh. With no one around for miles, it was a feeling of total solitude and, shall we say, grandness. You can see the Milpitas mountain on one side, magnified by the proximity to that mountain, and cars on the freeway — I don’t know if it’s 880 or 680 though. And then there is the Santa Cruz range on the other, more distant side. We also saw the Dunbarton bridge from Alviso yesterday. The boardwalk was a bit of a dodgy, slightly scary experience though since I wasn’t sure of it’s stability. There are no railings either in some places, so if a fall occurs, one is going to get wet and probably be eaten by some obscure marsh monsters lurking in the bay. Nonetheless, none of that occurred. The links (eh, what do we call them, planks?) were seen to provide good footing for the bike with no signs of wobbliness, and all was well.
It is remarkable that such an oasis of quiet (if I may use another platitude), sans the planes and trains, which only add to the lustre, should exist a metaphorical stone’s throw from the bustling Silicon Valley ghettos, and is yet so unvisited. This exists alongside the Zanker road landfill (which someone called the stinky elephant that no one wants to talk about), whose olfactory presence was not felt at that time. I think that one can discern a qualitative difference between the Milpitas stink (which apparently comes from the Newby island landfill), and the Zanker road stink, but that’s beside the point.

Picturesque stretch of land in Alviso/​San Jose.
There are other refuge locations around the Bay that are officially part of the Don Edwards SF Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but this one is the closest. Fremont is the next.
Their center consists of three stories:
1^st floor: offices, gathering space, two lab rooms, and, most importantly, restrooms.
2^nd floor: instructional room
3^rd floor: observation deck (indoor)
The walkways are ideal for the introduction to the salt marsh and wetlands, the slough from the water pollution control plant, and the lower part of the SF Bay.
Tax dollars well-​spent, if that could ever be said.

I lived in the Bay Area for far too long before I finally started to see, like, the actual bay (oh the shame) and now that I’ve been here I believe I will be making more efforts to change that. I have so far only scratched the surface of the various trails they have here, and I definitely plan to return and take some of the more sustained hikes. I’ve added a few pics, so you should be able to get an idea of whether this looks like a place you’d want to spend time in.
However, there are some oddities with regards to the «closed» trails. There is some kind of «restoration» effort going on here, and as such some paths are closed, but they don’t make it especially clear which are closed. Yes, there are some plastic mesh fences, but they don’t necessarily block off all of the closed paths. There is a sign at the front showing closures due to construction, so you might want to read it more carefully than we did upon your first visit!
Also, it does close rather early, definitely not at sunset as some parks do. I’m not even sure how to tell ahead of time when it will close, as there’s nothing on their site! Just try to get here earlier, and probably no later than 1.

I love coming here to jog realy enjoy they nature around me and getting me daily work out.

Great place to hike, jog or bike at Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge. We live very nearby and was first time here last weekend. We love it. Parking is free and there is clean restroom. We bike around the baylands or salt ponds which it is almost 9.1 miles. Very flat trail and safe for kids. We did many stop to view the birds and enjoy the view from the trail.
There is railway track and we saw a train from far and did not catch where it is heading. Anyone know what train pass through this place? The gate close after Sunset so make sure you leave before the ranger close the gate.

Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Environmental Education Center. Great place to learn about the South Bay wetlands area! Extensive walking trails too.