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Bedwell Bayfront Park

Date: (Sun.) Jun. 15, 2014
Location: Menlo Park, CA
Event Director: - 650.281.5280
Course Setter: Phillip Hoare
Type: C; Variety of courses for beginners to advanced

Related Event Information

Course Setter's Notes Last Year's July Event Event Results

Please note that fees and time limits apply. Events are typically not canceled due to bad weather.


It’s time to return to Bedwell Bayfront Park, one of BAOC’s best “urban” venues. The park is situated right on SF Bay at the end of Marsh Road in Menlo Park, but it’s only a couple miles from downtown Palo Alto and Menlo Park. Near the western end of the Dumbarton Bridge, it’s also very easy to get to from the Peninsula or the East Bay.

There will be traditional, point-to-point courses, with many controls (see below).

What is Orienteering

An adventure: Discover the outdoors and discover yourself! Teams of 1 to 5 find checkpoints in parks and wilderness areas using specially-produced maps. All are welcome at our events​—​runners, joggers, hikers, and walkers.

Schedule

The standard event fees will apply (see below).
You may print and fill out an entry form (38KB/PDF) (http://baoc.org/pdfs/entry_form.pdf) in advance if you wish (which may save time if you are bringing a large group). Complete one form for each team of people going on a course together.
These short, repeating introductions to orienteering provide enough information to complete a beginner (White) course.
Everyone must check in at the Start to be assigned a start time, so participants are spaced out (at least at the Start).
Everyone must report to the Finish by then even if you haven't completed your course.

After you finish, enjoy free snacks and refreshments, and socialize with other participants!

Courses

Phillip Hoare has set six courses, from beginner-level White up through fairly long Green and Red. To present more of a challenge to advanced orienteers, all the park’s many roads and trails are left off the map on the advanced (Brown, Green, Red) courses, which means that you’ll need to navigate mainly using contours/elevation and especially the vegetation.

Other than White and Yellow, there is a lot of control overlap across courses (although in different combinations and orders, so it could still be interesting to do multiple courses). Beginners are encouraged to do the Yellow course after completing the White course (at reduced fees).

Here are the course details (the climb is minimal on all the courses): 

   Course     Distance    Controls
   White       1.7 km         9     
   Yellow      2.7 km        12
   Orange      4.2 km        16
   Brown       4.4 km        18
   Green       6.0 km        19
   Red         8.4 km        22

Be sure to read the Course Setter's Notes for more information.

Beginners should note that the course distances are measured along the straight lines between controls. You might not be able to, or want to, travel along those straight lines, and you might make mistakes, so your actual distance will likely be longer.

What to Bring

For beginners' courses, comfortable outdoors attire and shoes are fine.

For intermediate and advanced courses, leg cover or gaiters are recommended, as well shoes with some extra grip on the sole.

A compass is not necessary, but can be helpful. We have compasses available for a $1 rental fee.

We time the courses with the SPORTident system, so a SPORTident finger stick is required for each team. You can rent one for $3. (Use of the "E-punch" system is easy. You can learn how at the event, or read about it here.)

Venue Facilities

No park entrance fee.

Decent restrooms and one drinking fountain.

Not a lot of shade, so it could be hot (we’ll have lots of water at Registration/Start/Finish, and probably one or two water stops on the course).

Grass is 1–2 feet high in most places off the trails, so gaiters and/or long pants are recommended. Be wary of ground squirrel holes!

Costs

  $3 for juniors on beginner's and advanced beginner's courses
  $6 for adults on beginner's and advanced beginner's courses
  $5 junior price for intermediate and advanced courses
$10 member price for intermediate and advanced courses
$15 non-member price for intermediate and advanced courses
$15 for the lowest cost individual year BAOC membership (optional)  
  $1 for a compass rental (optional)
  $3 for an electronic finger stick rental (optional, each team needs one to complete the course)

For extra people on a team, add $5 per person for intermediate and advanced courses or $3 per person on beginner’s courses.

More information about event pricing is available in the club FAQ.

Driving Directions

From the Peninsula, North, and South, take Highway 101 to the Marsh Road East exit. Stay to the left so you can drive straight ahead into the park at the traffic signal where Marsh turns right into Bayfront Expressway.

From the East Bay, cross the Dumbarton Bridge. Go to the fifth traffic light after the bridge and turn right into the park.

There's a map here that shows the location of the event.