Shoreline at Mountain View has three construction projects going at once this fall. The newest trail on the bayfront is closed, and trucks are crossing the Bay Trail to bring soil into the pond next door. The new trail stays closed all day, every day, until its repairs are done. The soil trucks that cross the Bay Trail only run on weekdays between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. The park is open from 6:30 a.m. until 30 minutes after sundown, so early mornings, late afternoons and weekends are all hours when walkers have the Bay Trail without the trucks.
The open hours also overlap with fall bird season. Visitors who know the work schedule can still get the good part of the season.
A trail that opened in February and closed by September
The Song Sparrow Spur Trail is the newest walk at Shoreline. It runs about 1.2 miles along the levees of Pond A2W and has bridges and benches. It came out of a four-year project that turned a 435-acre former salt pond into tidal marsh, built five islands for wildlife, and cost about $20 million. The Mountain View Voice reported that construction finished at the end of January, and the opening celebration was held February 20.
According to the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, the trail is closed again from August 31 through the end of November 2026. Crews are repairing refuge levees damaged by erosion, bringing in dirt and rock to support the trail and keep access open for Refuge staff, researchers and PG&E maintenance. The City of Mountain View's trail page says the repairs are on the pond side of the eastern and northern levees, underneath the trail.
The repairs are separate from the marsh-building work, which is now mostly up to the tides. Dave Halsing, executive project manager of the restoration project, told the Mountain View Voice that "Nature (will) do the actual restoration." The Voice explained that tides will carry sediment and seeds into the pond over the coming decades. The pond keeps changing while the trail is closed. The closure only stops people from walking out on the levees to see it.
The Song Sparrow Spur and the northern end of the Stevens Creek Trail are both out-and-back routes, and the work is north of the last trail junction. The city says no detour is needed. The northern tip of the Stevens Creek Trail closes only for short stretches when deliveries come through.
The truck window
The A2W levee repairs are one of three projects affecting trails this fall. Here is what each one closes, based on the city's trail page, which was last updated September 17, 2026.
| Project | Where it affects trails | When |
|---|---|---|
| Pond A2W levee repair | Song Sparrow Spur Trail fully closed; north end of Stevens Creek Trail closed at times for deliveries | August 31 through end of November 2026 |
| Pond A1 soil hauling | Short sections of Shoreline Park trails, including part of the Bay Trail, while trucks are moving | Weekdays, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Coast Casey Pump Station pipe replacement | Coast Casey Forebay Adobe Creek Loop Trail connection to the Bay Trail | October 14 through October 16 |
The Pond A1 hauling affects the most people because it crosses the Bay Trail. Trucks come in on San Antonio Road, turn onto Terminal Boulevard and drive into Shoreline Park on paved trails. Flaggers and temporary signs control access at the Bay Trail and at the Terminal Boulevard entrance. The city says the Bay Trail and most Shoreline trails are open whenever no hauling or construction is underway. A Saturday walk, or a weekday walk after 4 p.m., avoids the trucks entirely.
The A2W repair trucks take a different route: Amphitheatre Parkway, N. Shoreline Boulevard, Crittenden Lane, the Shoreline Park service roads and then the Stevens Creek Trail. The pump station closure is part of the city's Shoreline Park Water Control Structures Improvements, Phase 1. It lasts three days, and the city notes that the schedule could change.
Pond A1 is where the bayfront changes next
The soil trucks are getting Pond A1 ready for its own restoration. The 275-acre former salt pond sits just north of Shoreline Park and east of Charleston Slough. A February 2026 State Coastal Conservancy staff report said more than 60,000 cubic yards of upland soil had arrived by January 2026, at no cost to the project. That is about 30% of the soil the pond needs. At that point, about 70% of the soil was still to come, which is why the hauling is still going this fall.
The soil will build five more nesting islands and a planted transition zone along the southern edge of the pond, next to the city's closed landfill. Above that zone, a rock slope will protect the landfill levee from wave action, which the report expects to get stronger once tides return to the pond. The slope and levee are designed to withstand more than three feet of sea-level rise. The report says construction can start once all the soil has been delivered.
Google is paying for much of the construction. A restoration project press release from April 2026 says the funding also covers long-term monitoring of carbon sequestration and water quality. The release says construction is expected to start late in 2026 or in 2027 and finish in 2028. When it's done, the pond will have a new public trail, viewing areas and interpretive signs next to the 750-acre park. The project's current-work page already calls the Pond A1 construction "underway." The two sources seem to use "construction" for different stages. The soil deliveries are the part visible now, and the main build follows.
This fall's truck traffic is likely the start of a longer construction period on the Pond A1 side of Shoreline. What visitors get at the end is a second marsh, a second trail and a viewing platform.
What the open hours offer this fall
Fall bird activity picks up during the weeks this construction is running. The city publishes monthly burrowing owl counts from its biologists. The fall numbers from recent years show the pattern:
- September 2026: 8 owls observed, with 11 burrows showing activity in the Northeast Meadowlands and on the Back 9 of the golf course
- September to October 2025: the count went from 10 to 20
- Prior five-year average: 13 in September and 16 in October
This September's count was below the five-year September average. In past years, October has brought more owls than September. The October 2026 figure hasn't been published yet. The same September survey also recorded American white pelicans, great and snowy egrets, black-necked stilts, Forster's terns, willets, long-billed curlews, a northern harrier and a bald eagle.
Charleston Slough is the easiest place to see waterbirds with a guide. The Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance is holding a free drop-in event, "Fall Migration at the Bay!", on Saturday, October 24, from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Docents will be on the Charleston Slough observation deck identifying birds. Registration isn't required, and the group will have some binoculars to lend. It's about a quarter mile from parking to the deck and back on flat paths with little shade. The group suggests bringing layers. The deck is right next to Pond A1, and the walk is on a Saturday, so the soil trucks won't be running.
Some of the park's other spots have changed. The American Bistro at Shoreline Lake is closed for a remodel. The Boathouse is still open with espresso, snacks and patio seating. Boathouse hours are 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends, and the last rentals go out an hour before closing. A Scouting America watersports merit badge clinic is scheduled at the Boathouse October 17 and 18. No reopening date for the Bistro has been posted.
Michaels at Shoreline serves breakfast, lunch and drinks. It's open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday, with a happy hour on weekends. Free docent tours of Rengstorff House run Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 1 to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. Tours are canceled on Wednesday, November 11.
One Saturday, October 24
The Pond A1 hauling only happens on weekdays, so a full Saturday at the bayfront is easy to plan:
- 8:30 a.m. Start at the Charleston Slough observation deck while the bird alliance docents are there.
- 10:15 a.m. Walk or drive over to Rengstorff House for a docent tour before the Saturday tours end at noon.
- 12:15 p.m. Lunch at Michaels at Shoreline, which is open until 6 p.m. on Saturdays.
- 2:00 p.m. Rent a boat at the Shoreline Lake Boathouse. The last weekend rentals go out at 6 p.m.
- Late afternoon. Walk the Bay Trail back toward Charleston Slough. The city says the Bay Trail is open when no hauling is happening, and the park closes 30 minutes after sundown.
The Song Sparrow Spur Trail isn't part of this plan. Its closure is scheduled to run through the end of November 2026.
Our team follows projects like Pond A1 because they change how Mountain View's edge looks and works year to year. If you'd like a local read on how the Shoreline restoration and other city projects connect to the neighborhoods around them, Edelino Chen offers that guidance in English, Mandarin and Cantonese. Schedule a free consultation.
