Bounded by Mountain View and East Palo Alto, the 1,940-acre Baylands Preserve is one of the largest tracts of undisturbed marshland remaining in the San Francisco Bay. Fifteen miles of multi-use trails provide access to a unique mixture of tidal and freshwater habitats.

Many consider this area to be one of the best bird watching areas on the west coast. The preserve has a substantial resident population of birds as well as being a major migratory stopover on the Pacific Flyway.

The Palo Alto Baylands is a large expanse of marshland and bayshore managed by the city of Palo Alto. It is one of the better birding areas in the county and contains a mix of shorebirds, rails, and ducks.

The area includes salt marshes, a large slough, a channel with large amounts of vegetation on each side, a large tidal marsh, a duck pond, and two creek channels with large amounts of mudflats. 

There are several small parking lots, as well as a boat launch. However, the only restrooms here (with the exception of one at Byxbee Park to the south) are porta-potties. The park opens at 8:00 AM and closes at sunset.

The park has several eBird hotspots for more specific areas within the park. The Palo Alto Baylands--Duck Pond is mainly for the duck pond and the surrounding plantings, the Palo Alto Baylands--Boardwalk is for the boardwalk and Lucy Evans Nature Center, and the two San Francisquito Creek Mouth hotspots (one in Santa Clara County and one in San Mateo County) are for the creek mouth only (for more discussion on the county boundaries there, see the Santa Clara Audubon Society website). The “Palo Alto Baylands” hotspot generally encompasses all of the above hotspots, as well as many of the areas in between them, the boat launch, and the tidal marsh south of the Lucy Evans parking. Other hotspots in the area (e.g. Byxbee Park, San Francisquito Creek Trail-Geng Road) are technically part of the Palo Alto Baylands, but the general Palo Alto Baylands hotspot should not be used for these areas.