one million visitors each year—and that’s not counting all the dogs that come with those human visitors. The park is so dog-friendly that it houses Mudpuppy’s, a pet spa, and The Sit & Stay Cafe, an eatery where dog lovers can snack while their pets get groomed.
Point Isabel Regional Shoreline is the perfect place to walk your dog or catch a sunset—or both.
While many think of the area as a scenic dog park with views of the bay, the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, Mount Tamalpais, and more, the park’s mudflats and salt marsh also make it a great birdwatching locale. Shorebirds live here year round, and ducks flock to the park in winter. Perhaps the area’s most important avian resident is the Ridgway’s rail. To keep this bird’s habitat safe, pet owners should keep their dogs off the mudflats that are exposed at low tide.
The park, while popular year round, comes alive with greenery and wildflowers in winter and spring, but rain can also make the area muddy. If you visit around dusk, you can watch the sun set behind the San Francisco skyline.
GET MOVING
From the Point Isabel Dog Park parking lot at the end of Rydin Road, enter the park and make an immediate left (restrooms should be at your back and the parking lot fence to your left). Take the dirt path along the southern edge of the park and closest to the fenced-off, paved San Francisco Bay Trail. The large building to your left is a United States Postal Service bulk mail facility. (The East Bay Regional Park District acquired Point Isabel Regional Shoreline in 1975 to offset the facility’s construction.) Stay straight on this path for 0.3 mile, at which point the path bends to the left and leads you to the circular end of a parking lot that houses the pet spa and café mentioned earlier. Unless you need a break already, you’ll bear right on a paved path and head toward the bay, where you’ll take in panoramic views that stretch from the Bay Bridge to San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge.
When you reach the water, turn right and walk along the bay for 0.1 mile. Then, follow the path as it bends right and parallels the first path you took. You are now on the paved Channel Trail (no sign) along the Hoffman Channel, a narrow body of water that can look very different depending on whether you’re hiking at low or high tide. Continue 0.4 mile on this trail, going past the parking area where you started, and then turning left to cross the channel using a small wood bridge. Across the bridge, continue straight on the gravel path within the park (not the paved San Francisco Bay Trail, which is off to your right).
Continue 0.1 mile parallel to the San Francisco Bay Trail, and then bear left to follow the curve of the gravel path. As it bends, you’ll get views of Mount Tamalpais and the Golden Gate Bridge.
After another 0.3 mile, you have an option to do a quick 0.1 mile roundtrip detour on a small finger of land to your right (detour mileage not included in selected route mileage). Then continue to follow the paved path as it reaches the western side of the park and curves back along the channel. Follow the paved channel-side path (called the North Point Isabel Trail) for 0.3 mile until you get back to the wood bridge. Cross the bridge and end the route in the parking lot where you started.
GO FARTHER
Point Isabel conveniently runs alongside the San Francisco Bay Trail. You can take this trail south 1.7 miles to explore The Albany Bulb (Hike 1), a shoreline park with sculptures, bay views, and a labyrinth.
| 3 | Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline |
| DISTANCE: | 3.0 miles |
| ELEVATION GAIN: | 710 feet |
| HIGH POINT: | 370 feet |
| DIFFICULTY: | Moderate |
| FITNESS: | Walkers, hikers, runners |
| FAMILY-FRIENDLY: | A little steep for young children; families with young children may want to stick to the bayside trails |
| DOG-FRIENDLY: | Permitted off leash east of Dornan Drive (where this hike takes place), but must be on leash (no longer than six feet) west of Dornan Drive |
| AMENITIES: | Restrooms and multiple picnic areas at start and end of hike next to parking areas |
| CONTACT: | East Bay Regional Park District |
| GPS: | 37°54'11.2212" N 122°19'10.3656" W |
| MAP TO: | Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline |
GETTING THERE
Public Transit: AC Transit bus 72M takes you to the intersection of South Garrard Boulevard and West Cutting Boulevard, a 0.8-mile walk from the hike start.
Parking: The park has a few parking areas. I recommend parking in the lot across the street from the Richmond Ramblers Motorcycle Club (but not in the motorcycle club’s parking lot).
Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline has two distinct personalities. On the west side of Dornan Drive (the road that divides the park) is a flat bayside area with a lagoon, picnic areas, and a small circuit of trails. On the east side of this road, steep hills shoot up into the air, connected by a rich trail network. Many people spend their time in the flat bayside area. That’s precisely why this route ventures into the hills for a short but demanding hike that lets you walk through native grasslands and trees while taking in views from Oakland to the Bay Bridge to San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin and everywhere in between. (Note: If you’re not up for steep hills, you may want to stay in the bayside section.)
The two sides of the park look different for a reason. The hills on the featured route were an island until 1900 when the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad built a causeway (using rocks quarried from the surrounding hillsides) to bring freight and passengers into the area. People and goods were dropped at the southwestern corner of the park, where they would then pick up a ferry to San Francisco. The lagoon and nearby picnic areas were once a cove in the San Francisco Bay.
The East Bay Regional Park District acquired this land in 1972, and the area was officially established as a park in 1975. The 307-acre park was named for George Miller Jr., a former state senator, and John T. Knox, a former state assemblyman and Point Richmond resident.
Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline offers views of Mount Tamalpais, Red Rock Island, and the bay.
GET MOVING
Park in one of the lots along Dornan Drive. Carefully cross the road (there’s no crosswalk here) and pick up the Old Country Road trail between the Richmond Ramblers Motorcycle Club building and the Golden State Model Railroad Museum. Take a flat, elevated wooden walkway, then follow the trail uphill. At 0.1 mile, head right at a trail marker to stay on the Old Country Road trail.
As you continue to ascend, look right to get your first view of Mount Tamalpais, the bay, and the Richmond Bridge. After 0.15 mile,
