Residence Inn Fremont Silicon Valley

Park Features: This stunning 1,249-acre regional park provides tremendous views from the tops of the East Bay hills. The plateau rises quickly and steeply from the bay plain and towers over one thousand feet above the cities below, overlooking Niles Canyon, Fremont, Union City, Newark and the San Francisco Bay beyond. Atop the plateau a pastoral landscape predominates, and golden eagles, hawks, deer, bobcats, frogs, snakes and a variety of other animals make their home in the open grasslands,...

Mission Peak gets throngs of hikers but only savvy trekkers take this route to the summit -- an eight-mile out-and-back that stretches out the 2,000-foot ascent to the summit (the most-popular route ascends a similar height in a 5.2-mile out-and-back). This gradual route is a less-strenuous option for hiking to the top of the popular East Bay peak. It starts from the parking lot at Ohlone College along Mission Boulevard in Fremont, California. Just one trail -- the aptly named Peak Trail --...

Trail Highlights: This hike takes you past the Dairy Glen group camping area and out around the base of the hills to provide great views of the bay and the multicolored salt evaporation ponds. Seagulls wheel high above you as you are buffeted by the cool bay air. If you are lucky, you may catch a glimpse of a bald eagle amongst the seagulls, shorebirds, and redwing blackbirds that call the park their home. The trail is mostly flat and much of it is paved, making it a good choice for runners...

Gentle climbs, scenic bay views, and traces of American Indian heritage await at the west edge of Fremont, California. Coyote Hills Regional Park is a great place to introduce a friend to hiking. If the modest hills overlooking San Francisco Bay force you to work up a sweat on the way up the Red Hill Trail, you can cool down by walking the wide gravel Bayview Trail along the water's edge. An enlightening side trip is to the Tuibun Village site east of the marshes near the Visitors Center....

The route also provides impressive views of the San Francisco Bay and the nearby East Bay Hills; expect to see raptors, deer and the occasional coyote. Trails on this route: High Ridge Loop Trail, Spur to Gossip Rock loop, Tolman Peak Trail, South Fork Trail, High Ridge Loop Trail. Skip the Tolman Peak section to slice three miles from the hike. Best times to go: Early to late spring, when the hills green up and the wildflowers put on their annual show. Winter is fine, too, though bear in...