From the levee trail at Hamilton, you look out over tidal marsh that was Army airfield runway before the levee was breached in 2014. On the other side of that levee, the Bel Marin Keys parcels are still diked flatland. The current estimate says they may not get the dredged sediment needed to become tidal marsh until 2030.
You can see both in one walk, and that is what makes Novato's bayshore unusual. The marshes along the eastern edge of town were restored in stages. Hamilton and Bahia are already working wetlands, and they fill up with wintering birds every year. The land right next to them, both north and south, is next in line. A winter outing here shows you the finished marsh and the land still waiting its turn.
The marsh you can walk on was a runway twelve years ago
The Hamilton levee was breached in April 2014. A 2.7-mile public trail along it was finished that June. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which runs the Bay Trail program, calls Hamilton the best stretch of finished Bay Trail in northern Marin. About 650 acres of old runway are now restored wetland, and the MTC notes another 1,800 acres "in the works" on the parcels next door.
The trail has two ways in:
- North end: take the Reservoir Hill Trail from Hamilton Parkway near Palm Drive. It leads to about three miles of levee-top trail.
- South end: park in the lot by the ballfield off Hangar Avenue near Maybeck Street, then walk up to the levee.
Hamilton has had time to fill in. In January 2026, the Marin Independent Journal reported on a regional bird-monitoring study that described Hamilton as a 648-acre wetland supporting more than 100 bird species. The same study found steep declines in medium and large shorebirds across the North Bay, while tidal-marsh birds as a group were increasing.
Across the whole restoration complex, which Point Blue calls the Novato Baylands and puts at about 2,600 acres, more than 200 bird species have been recorded. Three threatened or endangered species breed there: Ridgway's rail, western snowy plover, and the salt marsh harvest mouse. Point Blue also says tens of thousands of migratory birds use the site to rest and spend the winter.
Bahia is the older marsh, and it shows in the ducks
Bahia, at the north end of town, began its restoration earlier. The Marin Audubon Society bought the 635-acre Bahia property in 2003. It restored about 352 acres of tidal marsh in two phases, in 2008 and 2013. Audubon gave the upland hills to the Marin County Open Space District and transferred most of the tidal marsh to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Bahia is where Novato's winter duck variety is greatest. A Bahia guide from Wild Birds Unlimited lists the winter flocks on the lagoon: common and Barrow's goldeneye, scaup, bufflehead, ruddy duck, mallard, hooded and red-breasted mergansers, and winter grebes. The tidal and flooded areas next to it add northern pintail, canvasback, northern shoveler, American wigeon, and green-winged teal. The same guide says goldeneyes are abundant from November through February. That guide dates from 2015. Part of the lagoon edge is closed to protect wildlife, so follow the signs posted at the site.
Bahia also connects to Rush Creek Preserve, and the county's two entrances suit different outings:
- Binford Road, reached from the eastbound Atherton Avenue exit off Highway 101, usually has plenty of parking, including spaces for horse trailers.
- Bahia: turn from Atherton Avenue onto Bugeia Lane, which turns into Bahia Drive. The trailhead is on the left before Bahia Drive ends. Parking is on the street only, so keep streets, gates, and driveways clear.
Marin County Parks' Rush Creek page says there are no restrooms at Rush Creek and the trails can get muddy in the rainy season. Dogs must stay on a leash no longer than six feet and on signed fire roads and trails, with a limit of three dogs per person. The county's closures page, last updated September 28, 2026, lists no closure at Rush Creek.
The acreage that's still waiting
Some of the flat land you look across from these trails is planned to become marsh. Two projects account for most of it.
Bel Marin Keys Unit V, next to Hamilton, is planned to add about 1,600 acres: roughly 900 acres of tidal wetland and 680 acres of non-tidal and freshwater wetland. The Army Corps of Engineers lists walking, cycling, and birding among the intended uses. The first phase is finished. The State Coastal Conservancy describes it as a two-mile levee and a 45-acre seasonal wetland area, with the levee completed in fall 2021. The tidal phase is still being designed. The Corps reports that its fiscal 2025 work reached a 10 percent restoration design. In February 2026, the Conservancy approved an agreement with the Corps to place dredged sediment at Hamilton-Bel Marin Keys and three other Bay sites. The Conservancy's staff report says the site may be ready to take sediment in 2030.
The former Leveroni parcels are the newest piece. The Marin Independent Journal reported in June that Marin Audubon had completed its purchase of two diked parcels totaling 323 acres, working with Marin Baylands Advocates. The parcels sit east of Highway 101 and are separated by Pinkston Slough. The Leveroni family used the land for cattle grazing and hay for decades. One parcel, about 153 acres east of Gnoss Field, borders the Petaluma Marsh. The other, more than 170 acres, sits south of the airport and north of Rush Creek Preserve and Cemetery Marsh, and connects to the western edge of the Bahia tidal marsh. Marin Audubon president Barbara Salzman told the Independent Journal the purchase is "the last piece to make a continuous boundary of wetlands all along the Petaluma River" on the Marin side.
Restoration of those parcels is still a few years off. Audubon still has to choose a contractor, gather community comments, finish a design, and raise the money. The likely plan uses setback levees with sloped edges that can support native plants and rail habitat while also adding flood protection for the airport and Binford Road.
From the Rush Creek or Bahia trails this winter, then, you can look at a marsh restored in 2013 and, beside it, hay ground that may one day get the same treatment.
What's on the water by now
The ducks didn't wait for November. Marin Audubon's county arrival chart has northern shoveler arriving in early August, American wigeon in late August, canvasback in early September, ring-necked duck in mid-September, and bufflehead in late September. Every species on that list is due to have arrived well before the end of October.
A bird-habitat handout for northeast Marin sorts what to look for by type of ground:
- Salt marsh at Rush Creek, Bahia, and Hamilton: northern harrier, song sparrow, common yellowthroat, marsh wren, great egret, and Lincoln's sparrow as a winter target. Ridgway's rail and black rail are easier to hear than to see.
- Mudflats and tidal channels at Rush Creek and Hamilton: greater yellowlegs, willet, small sandpipers, long-billed curlew, whimbrel, dowitchers, marbled godwit, and snowy plover.
- Open water: large flocks that can include canvasback, northern pintail, and scaup.
A bayshore calendar, November through January
All of these dates fall after this post goes up, and several of them let you work in the marsh, not just walk past it.
- Friday, November 6, 10 a.m. to noon: Novato Baylands Open Volunteer Day, hosted by Point Blue's STRAW program at its native plant nursery, 737 Aberdeen Road. Fall through early spring is planting season, and the group sets aside time to look for birds. Snacks and a restroom are available at the meeting point. The event repeats on the first Friday of every month except New Year's Day, with sign-up through Point Blue's event page. STRAW has managed the Novato Baylands site since 2022 and also runs regular volunteer shifts on Wednesdays and Fridays.
- Saturday, November 7, 9:30 a.m. to noon: A native-plant planting with TurnOut and Point Blue in the Bel Marin Keys Seasonal Wetland Complex, also meeting at 737 Aberdeen Road. Sign up through VolunteerLocal. This is a chance to work on the finished first phase of the restoration that is still waiting on its tidal phase.
- November 24 to 26, December 23 to 25, and January 21 to 22: King tides, per the California King Tides Project. In Northern California, December 22, January 20, and January 23 may also qualify. The project's map gives times for the nearest location. It also asks visitors not to flush shorebirds and other wildlife that move above the tide line.
- Thursday, December 17: The Cheep Thrills Christmas Bird Count, which covers North Marin and part of southern Sonoma County. Contact information for joining is on Marin Audubon's Christmas Bird Count page. The Point Reyes count follows on December 19 and the South Marin count on December 26.
The Novato bayshore, from Hamilton to the Leveroni parcels, is one of the parts of town I enjoy explaining most. If you'd like to talk about how these trails and restoration timelines fit with a home in Novato, AnneLise Staal is happy to walk through it with you. Schedule a consultation.
