Accessible Trails in Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach - Alameda County - San Francisco Bay Area

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San Francisco Bay Area > Alameda County > Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach

Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach

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The island of Alameda boasts the Bay’s largest and warmest beach, Crown Memorial Beach, with shallow water and tiny waves. Also known locally as Alameda Beach, it's a wonderful place for strolling or picnics, with easy wheelchair access along its entire length. Many families come here to swim and picnic on the large grassy picnic grounds with barbecue grills. The park’s many programs for the public include nature walks, free evening concerts, and an annual sandcastle contest. Fishing is allowed, but all of the spots where I saw people fishing were inaccessible to wheelchairs due to rip-rap.

The beach has three contiguous areas, and a flat, paved 2.5-mile trail runs the entire length. At the northwestern end is Crab Cove, where at low tide you can use the Rocky Shoreline Tide Ramp, a concrete ramp, to get close to tidepools. You may find yourself at touching distance from limpets and barnacles. The base of the ramp is submerged at high tide. Look for grebes and pelicans, and at low tide, shorebirds feeding in the exposed mudflats. Another good spot to see waterfowl is closer to the beach, from an accessible overlook at the freshwater lagoon. It was teeming with coots on my late-December visit.

Visitor center: At Crab Cove visitor center you can see Bay creatures in the 800-gallon aquarium system, use interactive stations to view microscopic animals, build a crab from the inside out, or get a lug worm's view of the mudflats. Other displays are about the local ecology. Pick up a brochure here for the self-guided Memory Lane History Tour.

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Trail/Pathway Details

Bay Trail

Trailhead: Crab Cove visitor center

Length: Over 4 total miles

Typical Width: 4 ft. & above

Typical Grade: Level

Thereâ€™s only one gentle slope as you approach Shoreline Dr.

Terrain: Hard

The viewing platform at the lagoon is very bumpy.

Description

From the visitor center, if you follow the trail to the right, within a few hundred feet you will reach the concrete ramp that takes you close to the tidepools when the tide is low. The trail then curves with the shoreline and quickly leads into a housing development. Other than the ramp, there is nothing of much...
view full description From the visitor center, if you follow the trail to the right, within a few hundred feet you will reach the concrete ramp that takes you close to the tidepools when the tide is low. The trail then curves with the shoreline and quickly leads into a housing development. Other than the ramp, there is nothing of much interest to see on this short stretch.

Back at the visitor center, turn left on the trail to work your way toward the beach, passing grassy expanses. From there you can continue 2-plus miles to the Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary, at the southernmost end of the trail. Once you pass through the park, the trail follows alongside Shoreline Drive, where for part of the way views of the water are obscured by brush. You can still see the hills of San Mateo County across the Bay. As you approach the bird sanctuary, sand yields to cordgrass and beachcombing gives way to bird-watching. This small sanctuary, close to the road and housing and shopping developments, shelters ducks, egrets, and wading birds, including the American avocet.

The paved trail ends at the sanctuary, but the more adventurous can extend their trip a few miles farther, to Bay Farm Island, by weaving through city streets, then crossing a bicycle/pedestrian bridge over San Leandro Bay. The route is not clearly marked.

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Accessibility Details

The facilities listed below meet all of our access criteria unless otherwise noted.

Accessible Visitor Center: Yes

Beach Wheelchair: Yes

To reserve a beach wheelchair, call the visitor center at (510) 544-3187 or the Crown Beach park office at (888) 327-2757, option 3, ext. 4522. Arrangements will be made to bring the chair out to the beach. It takes approximately 15 minutes to prepare the chair. Staff will give a brief orientation to the chair and arrange a time for it to be returned.

Accessible Parking: Yes

Lots at the park entrance at 8th St. and Westline Dr. serve the beach. The lot closest to the entrance has the most accessible spaces; the other two lots each have spaces next to the restrooms. The small lot at McKay Ave. serves Crab Cove visitor center and has a few accessible spaces.

Accessible Restroom: Yes

At Crab Cove visitor center and just outside the visitor center, by the trail. The bathhouse restrooms were locked during my visit, and the toilet rooms at the north end of this building are not accessible. More accessible restrooms are in the parking lots at the park entrance, at the two southernmost lots, and along the trail at Grand and Park streets.

Accessible Picnic Tables: Yes

All tables require travel across firm grass. One table at the Sand Castle group picnic area has no benches, so would be good for multiple people in wheelchairs.

Other Things of Interest

The city of Alameda has been holding its annual sand castle sculpture contest at Crown Beach every June since 1967.

Ramp to Crab Cove tidepools (Bonnie Lewkowicz)

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Additional Information

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Website:	www.ebparks.org/parks/crown_beach

Managing Agency:	East Bay Regional Parks

Address:	1252 McKay Ave. (visitor center)

Nearest City:	Alameda

Phone:	(510) 544-3175

Hours:	Park: 5 am-10 pm unless otherwise posted.Crab Cove visitor center: Oct.-Feb.: Wed.-Sun., 10 amâ€“4 pm. March-Sept.: 10 am-5 pm.

Fees:	Main beach parking: $5 when kiosk is attended. Dogs: $2 each.

Dogs:	In restricted areas Allowed only on lawn areas and along the paved pathways; not allowed on beach.

Public Transportation:	AC Transit

Did You Know?

From 1917 to 1939, the area now occupied by the visitor center was part of a thriving resort community called Neptune Beach, which featured bathing spas and an amusement park.

Reviewed by Bonnie Lewkowicz, December 16, 2014
This web guide is a project of Access Northern California. Thanks to our partner the California Coastal Conservancy

DISCLAIMER: Although the information contained in this web-guide was believed to be correct at the time of publication, neither Access Northern California nor California Coastal Conservancy shall be held responsible or liable for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions, nor for information that changes or becomes outdated. Neither Access Northern California nor California Coastal Conservancy assume any liability for any injury or damage arising out of, or in connection with, any use of this guide or the sites described in it.