Full Review: Sunnyvale Baylands County Park

The entrance to the park is at the intersection of Caribbean Drive and Baylands Park Rd.  Frequently there is no one at the booth to take fees so they let you in for free.  The park is free from November to February.  Bear right past the toll booth and head down the paved road until you reach the fence/road block and park your car here.  There is a restroom at this end of the park but it is closed.  Instead you can use the restrooms closer to the park entrance.  There are a few miles of fully exposed, flat dirt trails out by the bay and wetlands where you can view a wide variety of birds so bring your binoculars.   To complete the entire walk including the loop takes 90 to 120 minutes walking and about 30 to 45 minutes by bicycle.

 

Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_1.JPG   Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_2.JPG 

              Park entrance                               Park sign

 

Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_3.JPG   Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_4.JPG 

                 Toll booth                        Parking at end of road

 

Follow the paved road for about five minutes and bear left at the gate (look for the Bay Trail sign) toward the seasonal wetlands.  These trails are shared by hikers and bicyclists.  Follow the paved trail until you reach a gravel trail on your right.  Bear right onto the gravel trail.

 

Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_5.JPG   Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_6.JPG 

                              Paved road to the bay

 

Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_7.JPG   Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_8.JPG 

                 Bicyclists                                 Left at gate

 

Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_9.JPG 

   Bear right on gravel trail

  

Follow the trail for less than one mile past a salt pond and keep a look out for birds- people have cited over 400 birds such as Egrets, Great Blue and Green Herons, Vaux's Swift, a wide variety of terns,  Bonaparte’s Gull, Yellowthroat, Red-winged Blackbird, Marsh Wren, Red-tailed  Hawk, a variety of sparrows and grebes, After the pond, the trail bears left, heading west.

 

Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_10.JPG   Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_11.JPG 

         Bikers on the trail                             Salt pond

 

Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_12.JPG   Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_13.JPG 

              Fleet of terns                         Bird watching pier

  

There is a waterway on your right where birds like to rest.  If you are quiet, you may even have a  Western Great Egret land on the trail in front of you.

 

Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_14.JPG   Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_15.JPG 

                 Waterway                                       Trail

 

Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_16.JPG   Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_17.JPG

 

       Western Great Egret                    Great Blue Heron

 

Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_18.JPGSunnyvale_Baylands_Park_19.JPG Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_20.JPG 

                                             Bird sightings - can you name them? 

 

The trail is popular with bicyclists and joggers even at dusk.  You will reach a red bridge to cross where you can head either clockwise or counterclockwise around the wetlands and bay for a loop that is a few miles long.  These trails have water on either side and birds typically rest along the trails and in the water.

 

Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_21.JPG 

                Jogger

 

Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_22.JPG   Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_23.JPG

   San Tomas Aquino Creek                      Bicyclist

 

Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_24.JPG   Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_25.JPG 

                                             Bridge

 

Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_26.JPG   Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_27.JPG 

            Trail to the left                            Snowy Egret

 

Sunnyvale_Baylands_Park_28.JPGSunnyvale_Baylands_Park_29.JPGSunnyvale_Baylands_Park_30.JPGSunnyvale_Baylands_Park_31.JPGSunnyvale_Baylands_Park_32.JPGSunnyvale_Baylands_Park_33.JPG

Panoramic view of the dirt loop trail into the bay