Point Isabel Regional Shoreline

Point Isabel Regional Shoreline in Richmond, California, is operated by East Bay Regional Park District, and is an award-winning, multi-use park for joggers, windsurfers, kayakers, photographers, picnickers, and people walking dogs. It has easy access for pedestrians and via public transit, private vehicles, and bikes (although bike-riding within Point Isabel itself is not allowed). It also features a concession offering food for people and grooming for pets. A longtime community organization and nonprofit, Point Isabel Dog Owners and Friends (PIDO), is active in the maintenance and improvement of the park.HistoryThis 50acre park was incorporated into the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) in 1975. The United States Postal Service operates a large bulk mail facility adjacent to what is now Point Isabel Regional Shoreline. As mitigation for the construction of this large facility on the shoreline, USPS offered to lease what is now Point Isabel Regional Shoreline free of charge to the EBRPD until 2025. The lease came with the condition of free public access.Originally 23 acres, Point Isabel officially added North Point Isabel (sometimes called Battery Point) in 2002 when McLaughlin Eastshore State Park (then Eastshore State Park) was created. North Point Isabel is across the narrow Hoffman Channel from Point Isabel and accessed via a short footbridge or from the Bay Trail.Both Point Isabel and North Point Isabel, like many parks along the East Bay shoreline, are landfill. For years North Point Isabel was a dumping ground for industrial waste—the "Battery Point" name referred to battery casings—and underwent an intensive cleanup and clay-capping operation in the 1980s. Two of the toxins of concern in the area were lead and zinc. The fenced-off area just north of the public restrooms at the Rydin Road end of the park is dirt that was dug more recently when the restrooms were installed. The dirt pile tested positive for high levels of contaminants and was fenced off, planted, and is permanently off-limits.