The beauty and bounty of the San Francisco Bay Trail is showcased in a photo exhibit at the Bay Model in Sausalito, just in time to mark the 25th anniversary of the start of the Bay Trail project. Titled "Walking the Bay Trail: A Photo Journal," the exhibit will be in place through March 31.
Photos from “Walking the Bay Trail: A Photo Journal.” Above: Hayward Regional Shoreline. Below: A black crowned heron at MLK Regional Shoreline. Photos by Kurt Schwabe
By Natalie Orenstein
Published: March, 2014
The beauty and bounty of the San Francisco Bay Trail is showcased in a photo exhibit at the Bay Model in Sausalito, just in time to mark the 25th anniversary of the start of the Bay Trail project. Titled "Walking the Bay Trail: A Photo Journal," the exhibit will be in place through March 31.
The images on display are selections from photographer/blogger Kurt Schwabe’s adventure around the entirety of the completed portions of Bay Trail in June 2013. Each morning, the "Bay Trail Trekker" — as Schwabe came to be known — left his San Francisco condo and used a Clipper® card to take public transit to a trailhead. By the end of the month, the outdoorsman had covered nearly all 330-plus miles of the Bay Trail, a network of pathways that will eventually loop 500 miles around the entire Bay shoreline and touch all nine Bay Area counties. The trail has expanded at a rapid pace since the project was launched in 1989, and is now two-thirds complete.
Schwabe’s colorful photographs, printed on dye-infused aluminum, highlight the ecological and industrial diversity of the Bay Area. Over the course of his month-long journey, the trekker climbed the East Bay’s Coyote Hills, poked around the abondonded buildings at San Francisco’s mossy boatyard and explored Alviso’s salt ponds On some legs of the trip, Schwabe was joined by naturalists, media and the like. But most days he happily shared the open space with the variety of wildlife that star in the exhibit: pelicans, cormorants, deer and turkeys.
A life-long adventurer who has worked in real estate, advertising and finance, Schwabe has always documented his outdoor endeavors on camera. His snapshots let viewers explore the shoreline vicariously – and may just inspire a day trip or two.
"As a photographer and writer, I sought for years just one subject, one project, which I could completely immerse myself in," Schwabe said. "On a clear spring morning I discovered the Bay Trail and my patience paid off."
"Walking the Bay Trail" is sponsored by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Aquarium of the Bay and The Bay Institute, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Association of Bay Area Government’s San Francisco Bay Trail Project.
The photo exhibit is on view Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Bay Model at 2100 Bridgeway Blvd. in Sausalito. Read Kurt Schwabe’s blog posts at walkingthebaytrail.com. For more information, go to mtc.ca.gov/baytrail.
Kurt Schwabe often hikes with his pooch Oscar Wild. Photo by Kingmond Young
Photos from “Walking the Bay Trail: A Photo Journal.” Above: left – the old ferry landing at Point Richmond, right – SF Central Waterfront. Below: Tolay Creek in Sonoma County. Photos by Kurt Schwabe
