The San Francisco Bay Trail is a 500-mile recreational corridor that will encircle San Francisco and San Pablo Bays with a continuous network of shoreline bicycling and hiking trails. The Bay Trail links nine counties and 47 cities, and will cross seven toll bridges in the region. Over 270 miles of trail are complete providing easily accessible recreational opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts, including hikers, joggers, bicyclists and skaters. It also offers a setting for wildlife viewing and environmental education, and it increases public respect and appreciation for the Bay. As a commute alternative for cyclists, the Bay Trail also has important transportation benefits. It connects to numerous public transportation facilities, including ferry terminals, light-rail lines, bus stops, Caltrain, Amtrak, and BART.

The Bay Trail offers access to commercial areas and residential neighborhoods, points of historic, natural and cultural interest, recreational areas like beaches, marinas, fishing piers, boat launches, and over 130 parks and wildlife preserves totaling more than 57,000 acres of open space. It passes through highly urbanized areas like downtown San Francisco as well as remote natural settings like the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Depending on its location, the Bay Trail consists of paved paths, dirt trails, bike lanes and sidewalks or signed bike routes.

The nonprofit San Francisco Bay Trail Project was created in 1990 to plan, promote and advocate for completion of the Bay Trail. To carry out this mission, the Bay Trail Project coordinates with public and private partners, disseminates information about the Bay Trail, seeks funding and administers planning and construction grants. Construction and maintenance of the Bay Trail is the responsibility of cities, counties, park districts or other property owners. www.baytrail.org

The Bay Trail Project is administered by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). ABAG is the comprehensive regional planning agency for the 9-county San Francisco Bay Area with a mission to strengthen cooperation and coordination among local governments. www.abag.ca.gov

Take U.S. Route 101 North from the airport -- towards San Francisco. Keep going until the junction with I-80. Take I-80 east (toward East Bay or Oakland). Cross the Bay Bridge, staying in left lanes. After crossing the bridge, follow I-80 towards Berkeley and Sacramento. About four miles later, take the University Avenue exit on your right, and take the left-hand branch of the exit ramp onto University Avenue. Proceed up University Avenue for two miles until you reach Oxford Street. Go left on Oxford and then several blocks later, right on Hearst Avenue. Head straight up Hearst which, above the campus, climbs steeply and makes a horseshoe turn before arriving at the main gate at the Lab. Alternatively, you may enter the Lab via the Strawberry Gate.

Parking can be difficult to find here and you'll need to prearrange for a parking pass through the person you are visiting. As an alternative to driving here, you can park nearby in downtown Berkeley and take the Lab shuttle here. To do that, as you come into Berkeley eastbound on University Avenue, take a right onto Shattuck Avenue. Four blocks later, go right onto Kittredge Street where you'll find a parking garage at 2020 Kittredge. Our shuttle bus pickup is one block to the north, stopping on the north side of Center Street at its intersection with Shattuck Avenue. Travel time is somewhat over an hour.