FLEET-FOOT Fridays: Circumnavigating the San Francisco Bay Area

I'm headed up north to the San Francisco Bay Area. I've always wondered whether one can circumnavigate the Bay via bicycle. I know that you can do pretty well, using transit and bikes. Although I won't have a chance on this trip to do such a trip, there are plenty of resources.

While there is an organization that advocates for a complete, dedicated, bike and pedestrian trail encircling San Francisco and San Pablo Bays (i.e. the Bay Area), that trail--The Bay Trail-- is not finished. It's a mish-mash of dedicated trails, bike lanes, marked streets, and unmarked and unimproved (for bike use) streets and trails. That said, it's fairly extensive and you can view the entire 'trail' here.

If that doesn't work for you, the southern two thirds of the Bay Area are lined with rail lines. From San Francisco south, along the west side of San Francisco Bay, to San Jose, CalTrain offers commuter rail service. Heading up the east side of the Bay, Amtrak runs from San Jose north through Oakland to Martinez, where you can bike across the Carquinez Strait and continue around San Pablo Bay, via Vallejo and on into Marin County, before heading south to San Francisco. As well, BART, the area's rapid-rail network, runs from Fremont, on the east side of the Bay, a few miles north of San Jose, up to Oakland.