In 1996, an 18-millimeter creep event, the largest ever observed on the Hayward fault, occurred between surveys 63 days apart. This event marked the end of a period of severely reduced creep on the southern part of the fault that began after the 1989 Loma Prieta, California, earthquake. The reduction in creep was consistent wi th elastic models for earthquake-induced static stress changes on the Hayward fault. These data suggest that creep observations can indicate regional stress changes of about 1 bar or less.