| Benicia State Recreation Area | |
|---|---|
 Beaver lodge on Southampton Creek | |
   | |
| Location | Solano County, California, United States |
| Nearest city | Benicia, California |
| Coordinates | 38°4′25″N122°11′35″W / 38.07361°N 122.19306°W /38.07361; -122.19306 |
| Area | 447 acres (181 ha) |
| Established | 1957 |
| Governing body | California Department of Parks and Recreation |
Benicia State Recreation Area is astate park unit ofCalifornia, United States, protecting tidal wetland. It is located in theSolano County city ofBenicia, 2 miles (3.2 km) west of downtownBenicia and borders Vallejo's Glen Cove neighborhood. The park covers 447 acres (181 ha) ofmarsh,grassy hillsides and rockybeaches along the narrowest portion of theCarquinez Strait.Southampton Creek and thetidal marsh frontSouthampton Bay, where the combined waters of theSacramento andSan Joaquin Rivers approachSan Pablo Bay, the northern portion ofSan Francisco Bay.
Don José de Cañizares — diarist on the 1769 overlandPortola expedition and who sailed withDon Juan Manuel de Ayala on theSan Carlos, the first ship to enter San Francisco Bay on August 5, 1775 — named the cove north and west of BeniciaPuerto de las Asunta (Assumption Harbor in Spanish) because he discovered it on thatfeast day in 1775.[1] The cove is noted as "J" on Cañizares' famous 1781 Map of San Francisco Bay.[2] The present name, Southampton Bay, is for theNavy frigateSouthampton, whichCommodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones sailed, along with a small fleet, to the cove in 1849.[3]
The Southampton Bay Wetland Natural Preserve makes up 70% of the park. The Southampton mudflat formed eroded upriver silt and clay deposits exceeds 1,000 feet (300 m) thick.[4] The principal habitats here arebrackish marsh, saltwater marsh and freshwater marsh. This rare and endangered wetland ecosystem is covered with marsh plants such assalt grass (Distichlis spicata),pickleweed (Batis maritima),coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis) andsoft bird's-beak (Cordylanthus mollis). Bird’s-beak is an endangered gray-green annual herb in the snapdragon family.
Park mammals include the federally endangerednorthern salt marsh harvest mice (Reithrodontomys raviventris halicoetes). Other mammals living in the park arecoyote (Canis latrans),river otter (Lontra canadensis),muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) andCalifornia golden beaver (Castor canadensis subauratus). Thebeaver probably migrated from theSacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in 2007. Historically, before theCalifornia Fur Rush of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the Delta probably held the largest concentration of beaver in North America. It was California's early fur trade, more than any other single factor, that opened up the West, and theSan Francisco Bay Area in particular, to world trade. In 1840, explorer CaptainThomas Farnham wrote that "There is probably no spot of equal extent in the whole continent of America which contains so many of these muchsought animals."[5]
Benicia SRA has been designated anImportant Bird Area, providing habitat for endangeredCalifornia clapper rails (Rallus longirostris obsoletus) andblack rails (Laterallus jamaicensis). Other uncommon species includeVirginia rails (Rallus limicola),Suisun song sparrows (Melospiza melodia maxillaris) andsalt marsh common yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas sinuosa). On their journey along the Pacific Flyway, many waterfowl winter in the park.[4]
Cyclists,runners,walkers androller skaters enjoy the park's 2.5 miles (4 km) of road and bike paths. The Hike and Bike Trail—two parallel, paved, accessible trails—beginsat the Military West entrance and runs 0.75 miles to the main park entrance, joining Dillon Point Road for 1.5 miles. The trail system is part of theBay Area Ridge Trail andSan Francisco Bay Trail. Most popular is the 1.5-mile-long walk out to Dillon Point on the park road.Picnicking is available at the group picnic area, one mile into the park. The Forrest Deaner Native Plants Botanic Garden is located at the end of the picnic area, offering displays of and information about plants native to the Bay Area. From the top of Dillon Point, you can trace the route of theCarquinez Strait Scenic Loop Trail, a 50-mile route that will, when finished, ring the strait.[6]
Dillon's Point offers prime shore fishing forwhite sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus),starry flounder (Platichthys stellatus) andstriped bass (Morone saxatilis).
beaver.