OVERVIEW
In the Peninsula’s City of Palo Alto; home to Sand Hill Road and Stanford University (Better dead than red, go Bears!) resides Baylands Nature Preserve. This park is known for a pier that enables visitors to walk above the marshes, a manmade duck pond, and two primary trails frequented by a variety of native birds. Dogs are required to be on-lead. If you are looking for a somewhat pet-friendly activity in Silicon Valley, you can do the CANGO at Baylands Nature Preserve.
HOW PET-FRIENDLY IS IT?
I would recommend this park, only if any of the following applies to you and your dog(s): (1) you have a dog and like to birdwatch, (2) you would like to experience walking over marshlands, (3) you have a young child and want to show them indigenous marsh-dwelling birds and what a marsh looks like, or (4) you are looking for a quiet place to take your dog for a walk on-leash, possibly after pitching to VCs.
When we went the Nature Center was closed. Its location was also not well marked so we had to ask a ranger, who was very nice, where it was. The Nature Center is at the foot of the pier that goes over the marshlands.
To be honest, I would doubtfully visit this preserve again. I am a fan of nature preserves because I have always been a wildlife fan, but once was enough. The only thrill was seeing a red-tailed hawk which was unexpected because I did not realize that they hung out in a marsh. I did not like the fact that I felt unsafe because of the lack of sidewalks. I found it frustrating to find anything or even thoroughly understand what was available as I walked along. There was one central sign with arrows, but it was not very noticeable, depending on where you parked you might not even see it.
IS IT CONVENIENT OR A PAIN IN THE —?
Free parking is readily available but unintuitive, meaning there are multiple small lots, but there is a lack of signage to direct you to the closest lot to your desired destination in the protected marshlands.
The road leading into Baylands is a major road, Embarcadero Rd (exit off of Highway 101), but it basically dead-ends at the preserve, so there is not a lot around Baylands Nature Preserve. There is a remarkable lack of sidewalks in the Nature Preserve area and signage, making it dicey and somewhat frustrating to walk around with a dog.
The closest 24/7 emergency vet is Adobe Animal Hospital located at 4470 El Camino Real in Los Gatos. This clinic is just over 5 miles away or about a 19-minute drive. There is another 24/7 emergency vet that is almost as close, SAGE Veterinary Centers located at 934 Charter St. in Redwood City. This clinic is just over 7 miles away or about a 13-minute drive. I am not sure why the closer vet takes longer to get to, possibly due to traffic, for that reason I wanted to list both. *[Please note: We provide the veterinary locations as a reference and resource, not a referral or endorsement].
