Destination: Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge

There is a natural treasure tucked into the landscape of Silicon Valley.  In the shadow of Levi's Stadium and the NASA Ames hangers, lies the country's first urban national wildlife refuge.  The Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge is a great stop for families interested in the flora and fauna of the San Francisco Bay.

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Yung

There are two ways to access the NWR.  If you are coming up from the South Bay, you can start at the Environmental Education Center, in Alviso.  From the East Bay, you can start from the Visitor Center in Fremont.  The two areas of the refuge do not currently connect via any trail, but from new trail construction, it looks like that is the future plan.

The extensive trail network was what drew us to the refuge on a beautiful spring morning.  We started our visit from the Alviso side, at the Environmental Education Center.  We were traveling by bike, with kid trailers in tow, so we were quite surprised to find that all of the bike-accessible trails are actually dirt.  However, they were wide and flat so we fared well.  If you plan to travel around the refuge by bicycle, I recommend a mountain or trail bike, a true road bike might not fare too well.  It is also important to check the weather - the trails are impassable in wet conditions.  We did a long loop around the Mallard Slough Trail and the Alviso Slough Trail.  Here were our highlights:

• Views of Levi's Stadium and NASA Ames hangers
• Wildlife sightings including Canada geese, mallard ducks, and black-necked stilts
• Wildflowers in bloom along the levees 

Our kid-passengers were also very excited to see the Amtrak train roll by us on the trail - TWICE!  Lil' H told me to "catch the train" so she could wave at the "captain."

Photo Credit: Ambarish Goswami

On our next visit, I plan to explore on foot/stroller.  I would start at the parking lot just outside the Refuge gate, and walk up the Marsh View Trail to the Environmental Education Center.  From there, you can wander through the Butterfly Garden, or visit the Center.  The Center is open seven days a week, excluding federal holidays.  Then take the New Chicago Marsh Trail for a kid-friendly half-mile walk.  The Trail is mostly wooden boardwalks over the marsh and there is plenty of educational signage to help identify the flora and fauna.

We plan to do a visit to the Fremont side in the near future as well.  In fact, I look forward to many visits in the future!

Please note that pets are not allowed in any part of the refuge.  Even though it is nice to walk with our animals, they scare off the birds in their natural habitat so please leave them at home on your next visit to Don Edwards.