Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline is elevated above a common city park by Arrowhead Marsh, a small wetland remnant on the edge of San Leandro Bay. On a visit to the shoreline you might see pelicans, hawks, ducks, swifts, swallows, egrets, and tiny shorebirds in the marsh, bay, and sky. Wildlife in this setting is a surprise, since the park is small, and is squeezed on all sides by industrial businesses. Highway 880 is only about 1 mile to the east, and Oakland Airport sits off to the southwest.
     There are multiple entrance points to the shoreline, permitting easy access and a variety of flat, unchallenging walks. In the heart of the park an elevated platform provides a good vantage point for birdwatching, but you're bound to catch glimpses of wildlife throughout the shoreline. If you're interested in exploring the bay on a kayak, there are a few boat launches as well as several short fishing piers.
     Picnic areas, restrooms, and a manicured lawn are nice extras for joggers, dogwalkers, and folks out for a stroll on the paved paths. From this trailhead in the middle of the park there are a few walking options, all easy and fairly short. Two parallel paths along San Leandro Creek create a logical 1.8 mile loop that stretches from the marsh to Hegenberger and back. Arrowhead Marsh Trail lingers along the southern arm of the bay, while Garretson Point Trail reaches north to the Garretson Point trailhead. Both these trails are out-and-back, and neither provides a true natural experience: Garretson Point Trail skirts industrial buildings, while Arrowhead Marsh Trail offers unobstructed views of Oakland Airport buildings and traffic on Doolittle Drive.
     Begin at the information signboard, near the elevated observation platform. Walk on the paved path, ducking under the platform and emerging at the edge of a grassy lawn. Although natural unmaintained settings are always appreciated, the site of cool, trimmed, green grass in the dead of summer is a decadent pleasure. You may want to take a tour of the interpretive displays on the platform, which explain about the shrinking wetlands and restoration efforts. If so, veer right and take the steps up to the platform. If you want to skip it, simply continue about 200 feet to an unmarked T junction. Turn left.
     Flat paved Arrowhead Marsh Trail edges along the water, with fennel, coyote brush, and mustard softening a shoreline of riprap. At 0.10 mile, near some benches, turn right onto the boardwalk.
     Slightly elevated above cordgrass and pickleweed, the boardwalk stretches into the marsh, where you might see white egrets and great blue herons. If you train your gaze west you may see a bit of the San Francisco skyline peeking out over a little hill. The boardwalk ends at 0.16 mile -- turn around and retrace your steps back to Arrowhead Marsh Trail, then turn right.
      There are picnic areas and planted trees on the left, but to the right a jumble of shoreline plants suggest a more natural landscape. You may see dock, fennel, sea lavender, sea fig, and yellow-flowered gumplant. Butterflies and dragonflies flit about in the summer. If you're lucky enough to spot a pelican out on the bay, keep an eye on the giant bird's antics -- pelicans love to fly over water and splash down for a fish. Squirrels are common through here, and the hawk I glimpsed out of the corner of my eye may explain the presence of squirrel and rabbit remains scattered along the trail. At 0.93 mile, you'll draw near a shoreline parking lot just off Swan Way and Doolittle Drive. Traffic and airport noise seems to be loudest in this area. Turn around and retrace your steps back to the trailhead.

Total distance: 1.74 miles
Last visit: Tuesday, August 6, 2002

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