Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Hamilton Field Bay Trail

    4.3 (14 reviews)

    Hamilton Field Bay Trail Photos

    You might also consider

    More like Hamilton Field Bay Trail

    Recommended Reviews - Hamilton Field Bay Trail

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Lillian W.

    I do appreciate when a community conserves a beautiful nature area and makes it a publicly accessible. Hamilton Field Bay Trail does just that. Back in 2014, this trail opened in the City of Novato's wetlands. They restored the wetlands over the old Hamilton Air Force Base. The base is long gone ( 1935-1974) and the hangars are converted to office buildings I entered the trail from the Hamilton office buildings back parking lot. Parking for trail use is allowed. There is a concrete walkway leading to the trail. The walkway is near the renovated air traffic tower. As you enter into the trail, there is an observation deck looking out into the marsh. The deck has large observation binoculars. I had my own and saw various birds and vegetation. The tide was low with dry areas but the marsh still held a simple summer beauty. Mount Tam, Burrell, and Diablo were hazily visible in the distance. The wetlands border along the San Pablo Bay. The trail is flat and dirt packed. It is not a destination trail but a great asset to the local community. There are no shade trees, toilets, or water fountains along the trail. I visited in the summer and did not venture far. It was hot and dusty out there. I do not function well in the heat. But alot of other folks do, I saw folks of various ages walking, biking and jogging out they. The trail is not a loop. Besides the wetlands the trail borders along the renovated Hamilton base and housing developments. What I totally missed out in was visiting the nearby Hamilton Filed History Museum, 555 Hangar Drive. Admission is free and visiting hours are limited. I was in the area on a day it was not open and did not know it existed until I spoke to a group of fellow trail users.

    Viewing area
    Debra R.

    Nice hidden trail along the wetlands. Hardest part is weaving your way through the neighborhood but if you follow the small brown wildlife vieweing signs you will find large parking lots between the hangars left over from its airplane days. Good walking surface and plenty of space to pass dog walkers and family groups.

    Chris L.

    You can access this trail from either the big parking lot near the hangers, or go up the Reservoir Hill trail. The second option is quite a bit more difficult, so keep that in mind. I parked at Hamilton and went up Reservoir Hill, and then came down to get to the trail. The view up by the reservoir is really great. This makes for a pretty good workout, but the path is pretty smooth most of the way. That is, you don't need any hiking poles or anything like that. I did not see any drinking fountains, but there are a couple out houses at the park, which is about two-thirds down the trail. The trail itself is very flat and easy to navigate. There are lots of families with little kids, some even on bikes with training wheels! A lot of mothers bring their babies in strollers as well. The history in this area is really interesting. It's fun to study and explore what happened to Hamilton Air Base. The runways are invisible as they are deliberately covered up with sedimentation. However, you can see the old control tower atop one of the hangars. So all in all, a really nice way to spend part of an afternoon. There are several other interesting things to do in this little village, such as the History museum or the Contemporary Art Museum.

    Swans were in this little inlet, but ducked under the water just as I was snapping this photo.
    Jean M.

    This is a fantastic trail for walkers, dogs & their people, families, bikers, and nature lovers. It is an out-and-back, not a loop, as others have noted, but it is well-tended, and has benches, special viewing areas with binoculars and signs explaining the plants, birds, and restoration process, and trail markers and benches and trash cans. As others have commented, there is no shade, so plan accordingly. There are a few ports-potties, but no drinking fountains. We walked from the park to Bel Marin Keys Road and back--about 6.2 miles round trip--all flat and lovely.

    High tide at Hamilton Field, American Wigeons.

    See all

    7 months ago

    Helpful 8
    Thanks 0
    Love this 6
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 19
    Thanks 3
    Love this 19
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Great flat trail overlooking a restored wetland. Many, many photo ops. Run, walk, or jog on a mild day. Not recommended on hot days.

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 1
    Photo of Debra R.
    714
    1085
    7280

    6 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 4
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Chris L.
    3357
    1438
    7335

    8 years ago

    Helpful 54
    Thanks 0
    Love this 48
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Nice bike trail, great views! Nice that there are multiple public restrooms on the trail too

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    Ask the Community - Hamilton Field Bay Trail

    How long of a walk is it? Is it a loop?

    Unfortunately, it's not a loop due to protected areas. It's hard to say how long it is since it depends on which way you go and where you start from. I can get 2-4 miles on average.

    View All 2 Questions

    Review Highlights - Hamilton Field Bay Trail

    A great flat trail with an occasionally awesome view of a murmuration.

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

    Read more highlights

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Hiking 3,374 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    McInnis County Park Skatepark

    McInnis County Park Skatepark

    3.7
    (6 reviews)
    2.5 mi

    The only bad part about this skate park was finding it. Google took me to a ground level parking…read morelot near the water and Yelp was also showing me that it was down the hill from where it actually was. If you need help, you can always ask where the tennis courts are--it was just beyond there, not far from the entrance to the park, but you must go up the hill. There is a lot to ride. There is a street section near the parking lot with stairs and rails with a flatter sort of bowl to ride. At the far end, there is a huge bean bowl that is quite deep. You'll find a variety of just about anything else in-between with one section marked "Beginner". There is also a covered area with picnic tables, restrooms, a broken water fountain, and what looked like bleachers up the hill a bit. It is an impressive skate park, and it would be in any part of the state.

    You know, I know the design is weird, and the lines are strange but... man this place is so weird!…read moreIt's the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory of skateparks. There are so many discrepancies at work here that it just makes for a bizarre experience, and I can understand the criticisms of the design, but... it's like the Burning man, sometimes you have to get the freak on! - The bathroom looks like stonehenge. - The skatepark, usually situated in the most unattractive of areas, gets to sit on top of a gigantic mountain hill overlooking a golf course and tennis courts. That's just bizarre. - there's a big picnic at hanging rock vibe going on. all those adolescent australian schoolgirls would look at home here before they disappear just like in the film. I'm not even sure if you can judge this on the same qualities you do usual skateparks. Some of the runs are so strange, like, I'm a beginner and I feel like I'm going to get catapaulted off the mountain because they'll throw you REALLY fast into... a dtich! or off the edge of a cliff! neat stuff. The bowl things are... weird! i mean, thinking on this, I don't know, That whole skateboard and pool skating thing was happening due to cultural factors but it was like, an accident. When I went it was also nice because it was a lot of little kids just bopping around and while most skaters are pretty fun, there can be so much pressure and people proving themselves to achieve quality and progression, which is important. but it's cool to have the cute bopping leanring kids. they were pretty good too!

    Photos
    McInnis County Park Skatepark
    McInnis County Park Skatepark
    Skate park rules

    See all

    Skate park rules
    Corte Madera Town Park

    Corte Madera Town Park

    3.8
    (15 reviews)
    9.2 mi

    This is a great community park located near the town's community center, a school, along a lagoon…read moreand canals, and near the fwy, neighborhoods, and shops. Really an ideal location for a park! Plenty of parking whether you park in the lot or along the road. It gets quite busy as a number of kids extracurricular activities happen here on evenings and over the weekend. I like coming here to walk with our pup, as there's plenty of grass and space to sniff. Some other dogs we see are off leash, but most people we see are good about keeping their dogs on leash. There are plenty of trees along the park, and a cute path that leads to the neighborhood further up the street. Also, the grounds are kept quite clean, and I seldom see any litter on the ground. Definitely appreciate people keeping our local park clean!

    Wow this is a gem! There's at least 3 play structures for all age groups up to 12 years old, plus a…read morepretty decent bouldering (rock climbing) wall, a tall swingset, a tire swing, a pretty good size sandbox with a rock feature in the middle, a medium size grassy area, and an easy-to-miss paved bike track for the tikes that circles half of the whole playground. Two tiny picnic tables are under a partly shaded canopy. Benches are dispersed throughout. When we went, there were ample porta-potties and portable hand-wash basins just outside the fences, and there are permanent bathrooms at the tennis courts nearby. Besides the fenced-in playground, there's a larger park with ample grassy areas, tennis courts, a baseball field, I think a soccer field, picnic tables with barbecue (BBQ) pits, and a small pond with a walking path around it. There's ample parking for cars and a couple of bike racks too. If you choose to give a thumbs-up or not, I hope you found my review helpful!

    Photos
    Slide
    Slide
    Large play structure for large kids
    Large play structure for large kids
    Corte Madera Town Park

    See all

    SK8 GYM

    SK8 GYM

    3.8
    (22 reviews)
    22.9 mi

    The experience could not have been better. Marco was…read moreflexible and accommodating in terms of our schedule. The class was super well structured. It was the first time our 9-year-old girl and our 6-year-old boy rode. Marco created a safe and challenging environment for them. They went through several different exercises that both built up their skills and confidence and at the same time got them excited about the sport. That's so challenging to do. In my experience classes are either to methodical and boring or over-challenge the kids and make them uncomfortable. Marco achieved a perfect balance and my kids are super eager to continue their riding. Thank you Marco, you contributed to a great day for our family!

    I enrolled two kids (ages 8 and 11) in the Sk8gym summer camp program the week of July 20th. The…read moreteenage instructors were great with the kids, but the camp leadership and overall management tone made for a negative experience. Throughout the week, both of the kids reported a that instructor/owner was frequently shouting and harshly reprimanding young campers and the teenage instructors. During the final session, when the 11-year-old specifically asked the instructor/owner for guidance on how to ollie, instead of receiving coaching, he was told he could never learn the trick because of how he pushed on the skateboard. This left him in tears. Mind this is a camp to teach kids how to skate - of course they are not experts. When I contacted management directly to raise concerns about how the situation was handled, they refused to offer any accountability and instead placed the blame back on the child. While the staff on the ground are doing their best, I cannot recommend this camp due to management's unsupportive and harsh approach. Learning to skateboard should be a fun and welcoming atmosphere. This was not that.

    Photos
    Improve your skateboarding skills with Skate Gym certified instructors for any skill level.
    Improve your skateboarding skills with Skate Gym certified instructors for any skill level.
    Improve your skateboarding skills with Skate Gym certified instructors for any skill level.
    Improve your skateboarding skills with Skate Gym certified instructors for any skill level.
    SK8 GYM

    See all

    Hamilton Field Bay Trail - hiking - Updated August 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...