Best Visitor Center Hayward Near Me

4worldlovers: Dry Creek Garden Hours: Open Thu - Sat 10am - 4pm

Parking: $5 per vehicle (when kiosk is attended); $4 per trailered vehicle. Buses: $25 per bus | Dogs: $2 per dog. No fee for guide/service dogs.

Garin Woods Trail and Ziele Creek Trail are currently closed due to storm damage.

High Ridge Loop Trail has sustained damage but is open to pedestrian use. South Fork Trail is open to hiking only. Meyers Ranch Trail is currently open with temporary repairs. Other trails have also sustained some storm damage. Use caution while accessing all open trails in Garin and Dry Creek Pioneer. Due to storm damage Dry creek garden is closed until next year. View Map. Updated July 29, 2023.

Garin/Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Parks are two adjoining parks from former 19th Century ranches. The Park District has preserved the history of the parks and expanded both over the years with ecologically and historically significant ridges, trails, and open spaces. The combined parks now encompass over 5,800 acres of open space and more than 35 miles of trails through narrow valleys and rolling hills with panoramic views of the Bay Area.

Famed in the early 1880s for the spirit of gaiety that reigned here on festival days, guests poured in from the rural districts of the whole county to greet their friends and make merry.

And so today, we pray you to maintain with us that holiday spirit; leave care and worry behind you; enjoy the beauties of nature here in your midst; and pause for a moment in your rush through life to give thanks to the great artist who painted this ever-changing picture of the hills and fields and streams."

Wheelchair-accessible restrooms are located in the restroom building by the Garin Barn. A wheelchair-accessible chemical toilet is located near Jordan Pond. Accessible drinking fountains are located throughout the picnic area. The service roads around the meadows and picnic areas at Garin are wheelchair accessible and total between 0.25 and 0.5 miles in length. Disabled-accessible parking is available at the Garin parking lot at the end of Garin Avenue in Hayward, and at the Dry Creek Garden parking lot at the end of May Road in Union City.

It is designed to aide in interpretive programs and for the enjoyment of the casual visitor. The Visitor Center displays artifacts from the ranching and farming history of the Hayward area. There is a blacksmith shop, a tool shop and several ranching-related displays to explore. An interesting collection of antique farm machinery outside the barn augments the display.

Meyers Cottage was a popular summer home of Edith, Mildred, and Jeanette Meyers, three sisters of Alameda who were very involved in local charities and fundraisers during the early and mid 1900s. The sisters also owned the 1,626-acre Dry Creek Ranch, which was donated to the Park District in 1979 and later opened as Dry Creek Regional Park. Upon the passing of the last surviving Meyers sister, the Meyers Cottage and its garden was also donated to the Park District. The Park District plans to eventually open the cottage for receptions, weddings, and similar events, and it will also house a small visitor center.

The beautifully restored two-acre garden is home to nearly 200 native and exotic plants, with something in bloom just about every day of the year. In addition to the restoration of the garden, pathways were rebuilt and footbridges were reconstructed over the creek. The garden is open to the public Thursdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The garden and cottage is located at the end of May Road off Mission Boulevard in Union City, and the parking lot is open all week until dusk (see Park/Gate hours at right), providing access to trails at the south end of Dry Creek Regional Park, which is adjacent to Garin Regional Park.

A newer feature of Dry Creek Garden is the Iris Garden, which is usually open for two months during the spring, Thursdays through Sundays from 10am to 4pm.