Trail Opens, Linking Mountain View and Sunnyvale

A swarm of bicyclists, hikers, nature enthusiasts, conservationists, elected and appointed officials and residents poured into the Moffett Field Bay Trail as Congresswoman Anna Eshoo cut the bolts of the gate in an opening ceremony.

Mountain View Mayor Ronit Bryant, Sunnyvale Mayor Melinda Hamilton and NASA Ames Research Center director S. Pete Worden joined Eshoo on Monday, Sept. 20, in the inaugural ceremony to open the 2.4-mile trail. The trail connects Sunnyvale and Mountain View and is a segment of the 500-mile recreational corridor along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay.

"It is a gem in our midst, truly unique to this area, and a legacy for future generations," said Eshoo (D-Palo Alto), visibly excited. "This really is a great cause for celebration, a special moment in the history of the Bay Area and California."

The trail has amenities such as interpretative signs, spotting scopes and benches. It allows the community to walk, hike, bike and watch birds while enjoying the beautiful and tranquil environment.

Worden told the crowd that the trail was symbolic of the link between NASA and the Bay Area.

"NASA is proud of this region, and I am sure it will stimulate our scientists and instill more creativity," he said. "I hope to see you out here on a bicycle." 

The segment of the trail that runs adjacent to the Moffett Federal Airfield offers unobstructed and almost idyllic views of the bay, Moffett Field, the Shoreline Golf Course and former industrial salt ponds, soon to be restored.

Managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Bay Trail is not only a recreational facility but also a key transportation link between Mountain View and Sunnyvale, within close proximity of several large employers in the South Bay.

Flood control is another aspect of the project. San Francisco Bay lost more than 85 percent of its tidal wetlands that used to act as giant sponges of flood water during storm events by slowly releasing runoff back into the bay. The proposed restoration would make it once again natural buffers of flood events in the region.

"It is not only that we want to bring bay back to these ponds but we want to bring the people back to the bay," said John Bourgeois, executive project manager of South Bay Salt Pond (SBSP) Restoration Project. "The trail also gives you the front-row view for witnessing the historic transformation of the bay back to a tidal wetland, back to its past glory."

The SBSP Restoration Project is the largest salt pond restoration project on the West Coast aimed at restoring more than 15,000 acres of former industrial salt ponds to tidal marsh, thereby tremendously improving the wildlife habitats in the region.