Foster City offers different ways to spend your stay: parks with specifically named facilities, activities on the lagoon, and paths for different types of exercise. When choosing a hotel and planning your day, it helps to first decide whether you want to visit a park, spend time on the water, or cover a route. Facilities, rules, and route characteristics set these options apart.

Parks and Lagoon Activities

Leo J. Ryan Memorial Park offers 20 acres of lawn and access to the lagoon. Erckenbrack Park has a 3.4-acre lawn, a sandy beach, a children's playground, and restrooms. Choosing a park therefore depends on what you are looking for: Leo J. Ryan Memorial Park combines lawn areas with lagoon access, while Erckenbrack Park adds a beach, playground, and restrooms to its lawn. This lets you tailor your park visit to the features you want.

Boat Park offers a different focus. The 3.2-acre facility is a boat launch with parking, a dock, picnic tables, and a lawn; access is via Bounty Drive. Alongside the parks with their lawn and beach features, there is also a facility specifically designed for launching boats.

Water Activities With Different Conditions

Swimming is permitted throughout the Foster City Lagoon. Boats may be powered only by sail, electricity, or human power. Noncommercial fishing is permitted, but a state fishing license is required. Water quality advisories are posted when risks are identified; check these notices before swimming. Because local regulations for boat use may change, check the latest notices before your visit.

At Baywinds Park, The Kite School and Wind Over Water offer kiteboarding lessons, equipment rentals, and demonstrations. This means the recreational options include a dedicated kiteboarding focus, with lessons and rentals, in addition to swimming, boating, and fishing.

Loop Route, Levee Path, and Waterfront Areas

There are different options for getting active on paths. A 12-mile loop starts in Redwood Shores, follows the Bay Trail around Foster City, and returns along Marina Lagoon. Most of the route is on paved multi-use paths. The Foster City Levee Path is open to walkers, runners, cyclists, and skaters. The two routes offer different approaches: the loop has a specified length and course, while the levee path highlights four ways to get around.

The outer areas of Foster City along Belmont Slough and San Francisco Bay include protected, undeveloped marshland or shoreline areas along the bay with public access. This adds publicly accessible, protected waterfront areas to the range of parks and paths. If you want to explore different sides of the city during your stay, you can choose among park facilities, paths, and the undeveloped character of this waterfront landscape.

Explore more destinations: San Mateo, Woodside, Colma, Redwood City, San Carlos, South San Francisco, Millbrae, Menlo Park

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