The Albany Bulb

THE ALBANY BULB...

A former landfill area located at 1 Buchanan Street in Albany that overlooks the San Francisco Skyline.  If you are looking for an urban adventure, this is definitely on the top of the list!  

The Dog Beach.

THE DOG BEACH

You are first greeted with a beautiful sandy beach that is a fantastic area to let your dog run and play off-leash.  Once you have had your fill of fun in the sand, head up the trail out onto the bulb part and be prepared for tons of interesting art, animals, and a shantytown!

Shoe Tree.

THE ART

Walk up the main gravel trail and come to a fork.  Take a left and you are on a rocky path along the water overlooking the bay.  You'll see a bunch of interesting graffiti and art along the way, including a crazy-looking "shoe tree".  It gets really rough and rocky at a certain point, so I would recommend turning back. 

If you veer to the right of the fork  you'll be near the top of the bulb.  Note, this is where you'll see the shanty town.  People are camped out in tents and living among the bushes and trees off the trail.  Walk downhill on the trail through there, and to the North Side of the Bulb.  There, you'll see a number of sculptures looking out toward Point Isabel that are pretty amazing. 

The Thinker Sculpture.

THE MUDFLATS

If you pass the sculptures and go right toward the freeway, you will find yourself in the mudflats.  The Mudflats are protected as an important habitat for waterfowl and shorebirds.  There is currently some controversy over whether the off-leash status of the area should be revoked in order to protect this habitat further.  This is an area that has been used by dog owners for decades.  As a note, the Plateau area, once popular for flying model airplanes, has been partly fenced off as habitat for Burrowing Owls.  This is a tough issue, because it's great to protect the wildlife in the area, but responsible dog owners should also be able to enjoy it as well.  There is actually a public hearing on the topic on Thursday, 2/10/2011 at 7pm at the Albany City Hall, Council of Chambers (1000 San Pablo Avenue, Albany).  Hopefully there will be a good compromise for both sides... maybe a park ranger that manages the area?  Certain seasons that certain areas are closed off?  We shall see. 

There is a steep uphill trail at the end of the mudflats that puts you right in the middle of a section of the shanty town, so to prevent any surprises I would turn back and go back the way you came.    

For more information see  www.albanybulb.com

Hiking Strawberry Canyon

Looking toward the lot after
walking under the oak tree

The Strawberry Canyon trail is one of my favorites so far.  It has amazing views at the top, and on the way up some interesting plants and animals.  It's about 7 miles round trip, and it's dog-friendly.

The journey starts at a small gravel parking lot on the right side of Centennial Drive, heading up just past the Strawberry Canyon/Haas Pool at Berkeley and before the Botanical Gardens.  Parking is free but your stay needs to be at or under 2 hours and the lot is fairly small.

Once you are parked, walk under the oak tree at the bottom of the lot and you will see the start of the trail.  Joggers take part of this trail as well so you'll cross paths with quite a few of them on your way up.

Banana Slug

Looking down at the creek

You pass over a small creek that gurgles through the area.  Keep an eye out for Banana Slugs on the path as well.  They are neat little creatures that are about the size of your pointer finger.

Incline to the top

Soon you'll reach the incline that will give you a good cardio workout as you make your way up.  There is a fork in this trail at which you need to keep left for the complete hike.  If you keep right it's a shorter way up.

Once you reach the top, enjoy the amazing view!  There are quite a few places you can sit to have lunch if you brought some.  Save a bit of your energy for the hike down as the incline part is pretty steep.

View from the top!