Bedwell Bayfront Park MENLO PARK’S GEM
Don Edwards San Francisco Bay N W
g s t p W E u o GRECO ISLAND o i n
l t
S Tidal Marsh S S l o u g h
d Sewage Pump Station/ o Retired Sewage
o Treatment Plant Perimeter Trail l
F Methane Recovery Plant The park’s hills are popular with birdwatchers, hikers, dog walkers and bicyclists.
The park is surrounded on three sides by the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
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Bedwell Bayfront Park Salt Evaporation Ponds P Former Salt Ponds/Wildlife Habitat Perimeter Trail 2.3 mile loop T i d a l M a r s h A burrowing owl at Bedwell Bayfront. Tidal Pond Park Entrance P
0 0.25 mile en
av ve Bay Trail H 100 200 300 400 500 meters A Bayfront Expwy 0
Road 84 To Redwood City MENLO San Francisco Bay Trail P Trailhead Parking 84 (paved bike path) sh Rest Rooms r PARK Wide Trail Bayfront is home to some 160 species of birds, Ma Minor Trail Viewpoint including this Great Egret. Bayshore Frwy Great Spirit Path Trees and Shrubs Park and Refuge 101 Boundaries Summit To Menlo Park To Palo Alto
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT Visitors of all ages enjoy the park. www.FriendsofBayfrontPark.org All photos (except birdwatcher), including Great Blue Heron on cover, by Peter LaTourrette • www.birdphotography.com MENLO PARK’S BIRD WATCHING HISTORY San Francisco Bay is a key link in the great Pacific flyway A former landfill site, Bedwell Bayfront Park was created for migrating birds. Over the course of a year, some after the landfill was closed and capped off in the mid- 160 species of birds can be seen at Bedwell Bayfront 1980s. The park opened to the public soon afterwards. Bedwell Park. About 30 species of birds breed at the park. Others Bayfront’s hilly terrain, specifically designed for passive — including many shorebirds, ducks and passerines — receation, now serves as a landmark high point along the use the park for resting and refueling during the spring edge of San Francisco Bay. Bayfront Park and fall migrations. Various development proposals have threatened the park’s A checklist of common park birds is available at open space and wildlife, including development of a golf www.FriendsofBayfrontPark.org. course and playing fields. These proposals have since been withdrawn or defeated by voters, and the park today remains as public open space. SOUTH BAY SALT POND RESTORATION The largest tidal wetland restoration project on the West Coast is happening right next to Bedwell Bayfront GENERAL PARK INFORMATION Park, in the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Bedwell Bayfront Park is located at the east end of Menlo Wildlife Refuge. The park offers unparalleled views of Park on San Francisco Bay at Highway 101 and Marsh Road. some of the Refuge’s natural wetlands as well as of the The park is open daily from 7am until dark. salt ponds being restored. Parking is available To learn more about this project, visit the Refuge Visitors’ along the entrance Center in Newark or www.SouthBay Restoration.org. road and in two San Francisco Bay ������� �������� paved lots near the ���� PARK TRAILS AND THE BAY TRAIL back of the park. < to Redwood City The park has an extensive trail system, most of which Restrooms are near 101 84 to Dumbarton Bridge > is unpaved. Some of the interior trails are steep, crossing the first large paved
the park’s hills, and lead to several viewpoints. Some park parking lot. Marsh Road Menlo Park trails are suitable for wheelchairs. The relatively flat 2.3-mile trail around the perimeter of Bedwell Bayfront Park is part of the San Francisco Bay Trail, which will encircle San Francisco and San Pablo Bays FRIENDS OF BEDWELL BAYFRONT PARK with a continuous 400-mile network of bicycling and AT THE EDGE OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY, The all-volunteer organization is dedicated to protecting hiking trails, connecting the shoreline of all nine Bay Area and enhancing the unique open space that is Bedwell Bedwell Bayfront Park is Menlo Park’s largest counties and linking 47 cities. Some 240 miles of the Bay Bayfront Park, now and for future generations. The group Trail have been completed. sponsors guided nature walks, introductions to park birds, park, and its only open space on the Bay. and other educational activities. Formed in 2005, Friends of Bedwell Bayfront Park is The park’s 160 acres are surrounded on three THE GREAT SPIRIT PATH supported by contributions from individuals who enjoy sides by the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay This unique art installation in the park is a stone poem and value the park and want to ensure its future. You National Wildlife Refuge. in four stanzas inspired by Native American pictographs can support this work by making a tax-deductible contribution or by volunteering your time. and designed by Menlo Park artist Susan Dunlap. Easily accessible, the park’s many trails and hills PO Box 943 Installed along a 3/4-mile long trail in the park, the Great provide unparalleled views of the refuge and Spirit Path is composed of 53 rock sculptures grouped into Menlo Park, CA 94026 www.FriendsofBayfrontPark.org clusters, each representing a phrase in the poem. south Bay. People of all ages enjoy the park Friends of Bedwell Bayfront Park is a fiscally The largest sculpture of its kind anywhere, it is made of sponsored project of Acterra. for hiking, running, bicycling, dog walking, 892 rough natural stones weighing more than 505 tons. bird watching, kite flying, and photography. Brochure written and designed by Kathy Switky • April 2009