Bay Bridge Trail

I used to park at the IKEA lot to hit the trailhead. This time I tried the Burma road parking lot. Much easier! Now that I know where it is I will no longer deal with the traffic of the IKEA lot.
Riding the trail is too short. It’s only about a half hour of moving time. In my opinion, walking the trail allows for a better experience except for the first mile which involves nothing but construction rubble and a sewage treatment facility.
It’s cool to be able to see the progress of demolition on the old eastern span. Every time I’ve ever been it’s always windy so dress appropriately. It will be great once the trail completes to treasure island.
Take the family for a walk & get some pictures along the way!

I parked at the corner of Burma Road and Mandela Parkway, and started at that trail head. I brought my camera along and spent hours on the trail, photographing all sorts of things — especially the old span of the Bay Bridge which is being disassembled as I type here. Makes for such compelling photography! And the views of all of these things that I’ve only seen for a split second while crossing the bridge in my car are wonderful to pause and contemplate, and on this trail you have a chance to do just that! As for hiking, it’s hardly an ideal trail — all concrete, minimal shade, and the incessant noise of the passing multitude of cars make it anything but a peaceful hike, so if you are a regular hiker, you probably won’t be doing this one every weekend. However, everyone should give it a look, especially now while the old span is still there.

A great option to walk/​bike. Not for people who are sensitive to traffic noise. You are right next to the road and it can get loud with motorists zooming by, honking their horns, and going over the rubble strips. The cars can also kick up rocks going over the rubble strips.
Make sure to cover up with sunscreen!

Every two weeks or so, my honey and I both have a Friday off together. I have coined these days our «FriDATEs.»
This past Friday was one of those days and we decided to do the Bay Bridge Trail in the morning. We started at the trail entrance across the street from IKEA. There isn’t any designated parking, so instead of tempting fate and parking at IKEA, we opted to just pay for parking in the garage for the Emeryville shopping/​restaurant area. It ended up costing us $ 4 for the 3 hours we were walking. Totally reasonable.
Granted this was a Friday and I know a lot of people were are work but I was still pleasantly surprised that we had the trail almost entirely to ourselves. We passed a handful of other walkers as well as a few bicyclists but the majority of the people who we saw were working (CHP officers doing their rounds on bicycles and landscape workers).
It is a bit strange to venture under and along the freeway but the trail is spaced nicely from the cars, and they have put in some nice landscaping, so I felt safely separated from the traffic. There are also separate pedestrian and cycling lanes on the bridge.
I highly recommend checking out this trail while the old bridge is still intact. It was neat to walk right between old and new. It will also be neat when the old bridge is gone and the trail is extended to the island.
This trail will remain on the list for future FriDATEs, as well as a possibility for sharing with friends visiting from out of town.

Some friends and I walked the bay bridge on New Years days. The trail is good for bicyclists and dog walking as well. From start to finish it took us about 3.5hrs to finish. Great views along the way.

A little over 2 months old this trail is just awesome to bike, walk, run, or walk your dog. Take advantage of the beautiful bay and bridge scenery! Just B-​E-​A-​utiful! Especially on a great summer day or night. The fact that its November and we are still having awesome weather helps out!
As you get close to the middle pillar of the bridge it starts to get hard to hold a conversation with the person next to you due to the cars passing by at a fast pace. It can get chilly, so take something warm. If you’re running then you’ll get warmed up pretty quick.
If you start your destination around IKEA then you’ll encounter a foul smell passing by the EBMUD facility. Once you pass that then everything is fine. The trail along the bridge stops just short of treasure island. I can’t wait until it is expanded. Round trip I say is about 5 – 7 miles? I’m not too sure. My friends and I started & finished running from guitar center at the Emeryville market and that was 10 miles. Just do it!
Get out of the house, take a walk, enjoy what the Bay Area has to provide. Take advantage of this trail/​walkway. The bridge is beautiful and take in the smell of the bay. The bridge is already distracting enough when you’re driving, so park your car, take a walk and THEN take your pictures or selfies!