Alviso, California
If you want to be far from the maddening crowd, head for Alviso. This small town, at the south
end of San Francisco Bay, used to be a bustling port until the San Franciso to San Jose railroad opened in 1865. Now the marinas are silted up and all that remains are the entrances to the docks and lots of weeds.
Alviso itself is a sleepy little town with the railroad running through it and several good Mexican restaurants. A lot of the new houses are built on stilts because this place has flooded several times. The last major flood was in 1958. Since then the sloughs and creeks have been improved so hopefully it won’t happen again.
The Marina car park has had a face lift recently and it is much improved. More footpaths, information boards and seats. This is an important wetlenad area with several large salt ponds. There are always a lot of marsh birds to be seen - American Avocets, Black-necked Sandpipers and Plovers. (Once Tom and I saw a Black Skimmer here but that was very unusual.) They nest on the levees and in the sedges, salt grass, rushes and cordgrass. Around the salt ponds are levees which are ideal for walking and cycling. You can go for miles and miles and see very few people.
December 07 2007 | Neighborhoods | No Comments »
