A stroll along the bay shore of a park with an explosive past

Coppertone and I started our hike at the Giant Highway Staging Area parking lot.  We lucked out and on this particular day the park was not charging admission, which is normally $3 per car.

From our trailhead, we followed the paved road that crosses the train tracks on Badger Bridge.  After the bridge we took a left hand turn to get closer to San Pablo Bay and intersect with Bay View Trail.  This trail hugs the west coast of the peninsula and provides views over the bay and towards Marin County.  Mount Tam is one of the more noticeable features in the distance.  The trail is wide and easy to follow is mostly gravel and some packed dirt.

Surprisingly, we were joined on the Bay View Trail with the nearly constant companionship of gunfire from the nearby Richmond Rod and Gun Club.  The club is one half to one mile south of the park but the sounds originating there carried quite well across the water.  We're not sure if the volume (both in terms of decibels and number of shots) was atypical on this day.  It took some time for our minds to try and relegate it to background noise.

Still, the explosions heard in this area years ago were much louder than those heard today.  In the first half of the 20th century Atlas Powder Company and Giant Powder Company produced explosives on this peninsula.  At several spots along the trail we spotted several large earthen berms enclosing areas in on three sides.  The berms served as blast defectors in case of accidental discharge of the output being produced.  Now they appear to be interesting picnic areas.

We continued up the Bay View Trail until we reached the end of the peninsula.  The trail turns to the east and intersects with the main artery in the park, Pinole Point Trail.  This is also near the base of the Pinole Point fishing pier.  This long pier juts northwest further into the bay and was quite popular on this day with anglers.  A few hauled in impressive catches as we strolled by.

From the tip of the pier we headed south and stayed on the paved Pinole Point Trail all of the way back to our trailhead.  The gentle rolling terrain and paved surface made the second half of our hike and easy way to end the day.  We logged 4.5 miles in about 2 hours.