Not sure why this park has below four stars. Sure, when I went on a walk it was a bit muddy, but…read morethat's expected after the rains. I went around 4:30pm during the week after putting it off since last July. It was a pleasant walk with lavender fragrant lavender bushes along the way. This walk leads onto the beach across from South Shore and I really wanted to keep going, but it was getting too dark. The pics I posted are from on the way back. Definitely worth checking out. I loved seeing all of the fur babies along the trail too!

Loved the visit this morning to my old 'running space', back when I was a very proud Alamedan with…read morea key to a door of a house in a veritable secret gem of small-town living in big-bad Bay Area! (my huge claim to fame is that I quite literally lived across the street from Xmas Tree Lane (Thompson). So cool every year walking with my coffee mug, and not having to bear the nutsoness of driving my way out of that mayhem. The region of Alameda between the main isle and Harbor Bay/Bay Farm island is a wonderland of nature and beauty, views and water, sea breeze and outdoor happiness. This little Towata park is found just before the bridge crossing over into Bay Farm, just off Otis Dr. Turn right into a space that allows for about 10 parked cars, and from there, enjoy the underpass to the blue pedestrian bridge which parallels the auto one, and enjoy the water from both sides!!! It's really very special, this ability to walk out toward the estuary side and see rabbits and chipmunks, and lizards too. Facing McAfee and the Oakland hills, I came to circle the golden round of Shoreline Park that juts into the water, taking a peek at the Aegean marina folk and the activity on their boats today. On the other side, after making the mile+ circle, one can opt to turn onto the wooden-planked bridge to cross over to the shores of Bay Farm Island.... with gorgeous views of the Bay... Lovely piece of Alameda enchantment. And awesome weather to boot.

Mountain lion habitat and children's playground all in one... Hayward, you did it again!!!…read more I like to come by and stare at the wall behind the tennis courts. Yeah thats my jam. Other people like to come here and smoke and space out too. You can walk along the river maybe if you've got a dog that isn't spoiled rotten they will love this place - not Baby Wrinkles tho - she likes the Marina Green in the city. She expects views of the Golden Gate Bride, hundreds of people complimenting her smile and thinks the Blue Angels come to wow her and her alone. But yeah - that wall... I come here to look at it for obvious reasons. Its creepy if you get what I mean. There is a narrow 3 foot opening next to a picnic table perfectly placed for your viewing pleasure.

What a great park!! And a beautiful setting to see the Hayward Municipal Band play for their free…read moreconcerts!

Right around the corner from my place, this park serves the needs of BBQ'ers during the summer and…read moremost neighborhood dogs year round. The Canada geese can also migrate through here and leave a huge mess behind them, so if you intend to picnic here I would bring a tarp-lined picnic blanket. There aren't too many amenities here. A bathroom that is a little sketchy, but no BBQ pits so bring your own (and somewhere to put your ashes, if you so choose to use charcoal), as well as something to douse your flame. Anyway, a couple benches here offer a great view of downtown and sunsets. Just a grassy knoll along the lake, there isn't a fence or much to stop kids or pets from running onto lakeshore ave so be careful. Oh, and parking is scarce. More a neighborhood spot vs a destination, but the neighborhood thinks that's juuuuust fine.

This little park is easy to overlook at the corner of Hanover and LakeShore. From the street it…read morelooks like nothing more than a lone park bench on a patch of grass. But it you walk up the hill and venture into the park, there are several benches, a nice paved path and PUBLIC TOILETS that are clean and well maintained up there. Who knew? From the benches there is a wonderful view of Lake Merritt and downtown Oakland, and peace and quiet. The is no signage marking the name of this park, and the only recent updates are the f'ugly "no dogs in park" signs. That being said, it's a great place to walk your dog.

This is a very small park, I didn't feel safe even though I visited during the daytime. There's a…read morecreek, but the water was dirty and there was quite a bit of trash around it. The park also seemed poorly maintained. I noticed homeless people in the area and could smell marijuana, which made the experience even less comfortable. We came here after visiting the nearby Hayward Japanese Garden, which closes at 4 PM, so we decided to walk around this park afterward. This was not a pleasant walk for me. The park felt creepy and I wouldn't recommend visiting it

Very nice space with lots of nature. Tiny driveway and very hidden. Small parking lot but there is…read morenever not a spot. Very beautiful space but overall I wouldn't recommend the average person come here. Might be ok in the daytime but in general its not super family friendly. Transients love the area - maybe somebody smoking weed or something else a parent might choose to shelter their children from. Good walking trails and I think its good to drop by here after you just came from the Japanese Tea garden. I like how the two contrast. The Japanese garden very intentional and trimmed just so - this one very natural and charming in its own way. Little play structure for kids - probably best to have a parent or two looking out for whatever. I sort of prefer parks that are more open for family kid situations.

Heron Bay Nature Trail is one of my favorite local trails for a morning/sunset walk. There's…read moreconveniently parking at the entrance roundabout of the Heron Bay neighborhood. There's only 3 spaces + 1 handicapped space but I've usually had good luck and have found parking. If not, you can also park in the neighborhood right outside Heron Bay or at the Food Net plaza. You'll just have to walk a bit farther. There's two sides to the trail: one that goes towards the San Leandro Marina and the other that goes towards the Hayward Shoreline. The San Leandro Marina side tends to be the most popular as it ends at the park and you can continue your walk around the water and park. From Heron Bay, it's about 1.5-2 miles to the park. The terrain is all flat and paved. There are a lot of people who use this trail so sometimes you may have to step aside into the gravel for other walkers, runners, bikers, etc. This trail is right along the water which is always really beautiful. But know that it also gets windy sometimes. I recommend wearing a hood, hat, or beanie. There's also no shade so plan to wear sunglasses and sunscreen on a sunny day. A lot of people take their dogs walking here as there's a dog park at the end as well. Most folks have their dogs on leashes but there are some who let their dogs roam. If you have an anxious dog who isn't great around other dogs, I'd recommend either skipping the Marina side of this trail or just being very aware. There's lots of regulars on this trail (me included) so if you walk here enough, you'll start to see the same folks. Everyone's always greeting each other with a hello or good morning - a great start to each day/evening!

I to run and walk this trail. Great views of the peninsula and San Francisco. Always a nice place…read moreto visit.

"No Trout, but Ducks and Turtles Floating Around Might be Mistaken for Trout"…read more This is a rustic urban park, good for fishermen as well as families with small children. The day that I visited, several fishermen were using the casting ponds to improve their angler skills. The casting ponds have circular objects--I guess that's what you aim for. The whole thing reminds me of golfing, except instead of hitting a little ball you swing hooks at the water. The beauty of this method is that you have fishing line connected to the hook, so it's easy to get the hook back. Just think if they did that for golf how much easier it would be. Next time I'm bringing a fishing line to give it a try. They have signs reminding you to not jump in and swim around. Good idea. Of course the ponds are about 2 feet deep, so it wouldn't be much of a swim, even if there weren't fishing hooks flying overhead. I suppose if they wanted to, they could have designated swimming areas, where the fishermen don't aim the hooks at you. I'm pretty sure that would work okay. The park is reasonably well maintained, but the facility is obviously old. I saw a sign that proudly proclaimed, "Trout Fishing." Even though I'm sort of a chump, I didn't fall for that. Another visitor confirmed there really aren't any trout here. But there is a cute family of ducks and ducklings, and nearby a bunch of turtles. Maybe the sign maker confused ducks with trout. Easy to see how that could happen. Beside the casting ponds, the other ponds are pretty, and young children will certainly find the ducks a good attraction. One visitor pointed out a family of turtles close by. The turtles didn't seem to be doing too much today--just sort of floating in the water. They have several decent picnic tables as well. This would be a pleasant place to bring your family for a picnic. I did not see any restrooms or drinking faucets, but they might be hidden somewhere. So overall, a good place to visit with your young children. I can't imagine staying here more than an hour or so but it's a decent place for a quick visit. Plus, it's 100% free, with close parking as well. Just don't expect to bring home any trout for dinner.

A park right by the freeway, you say? This is a quaint…read morelittle park where you can do things like have a picnic, practice your fly casting techniques, or yes, use the public restroom. This park has been here for ages, and back in the day, the city and the Oakland PAL use to stock the deep pools with trout for inner city youth to fish during the summer. No allocation of funds for that nowadays. Boo. If you hike to the back of the park, a path will take you to the freeway overpass leading to a really nice (and long) hike through Leona Lodge ending up at Merritt College. Nice way to spend a warm afternoon. But still, it's a great place to relax, get back to nature, then make your fast getaway on the freeway.

Root Park isn't much to look at: a large patch of green grass, a few tables for sit down whatever…read morewith accompanying garbage cans. the municipal parking lot next to the park is being than the park itself. just street parking. a walkway down to the dry creek may be interesting in the summer. just street parking. located in the Downtown area nearby the municipal offices.

This is a very nice park near the San Leandro/Oakland Border!!…read more It's not much to look at if you're just driving by, but once you stop and explore this small park a little bit, there's more going on here. The statue here is dedicated to the Portuguese Immigrants, and is what stands out here. As you walk around the park, you'll find stairs that lead under the road, or what I now know is a small bridge. Running brought me to this park, and I'm glad it did!!!

This park is the closest to a doggie that I doggie-sit so I've been here plenty of times while I…read morewas with her. The goods- there's a good bit of grassy areas, a pretty cute playground, and restrooms. I don't know how the restrooms are as I haven't gone into them but at least they have them. The bads- no poop bags in all of the poop bag stations! So very disappointing! I forgot to bring poop bag one evening when I was walking her, and I went to every single one of those poop bag stations, and none had any! I walked us back to her house to grab some and walked back to the park to pick it up. They should restock poop bags in those stations. Why put up stations if you're not going to put any poop bags in them? F'in useless!

Playground, picnic area and fitness court…read more Lots of lawn but not very well cared for. Lots of weeds and overall unpleasant to look at. Big odd bell landmark. For looks - art of some kind. Nothing fenced. Open to surrounding single family neighborhood. Not designed for dogs.