Wanna work out in Oakland? This week I discovered this "cascade". Aka: 3 flights of stairs to run up and down...joined by the rest of the Oakland community. Best part is you can watch the sun set across the beautiful Lake as you accomplish your sweaty workout :). Fyi: there are notices all around telling you to not be loud bc it's a residential park. Respect the peace and get your sweat on! read more

How unfortunate that I discovered my love for these stairs when I'm visiting to help my friends MOVE from their apartment that is within walking distance. Boo. It's a nice small set of stairs...so no matter what level you are at, they are useful. I saw some people walk up a just couple times, while others sprinted up at crazy speeds. Are you even human!? I especially enjoyed my walk back by the lake afterward. Catching my breath, smelling the fresh air (albeit some times gross smelling depending on what you're walking by...but I like it), and watching the millions of ducks and geese float peacefully on the water. Heavenly. read more

I live here. I love it here. Lots of booties are sculpted on these stairs. While I watch from my kitchen window :-) read more

Lots of stairs! My wife had been talking about checking this place out for a while, so after brunch and a stop at the new cat Café in Oakland, I agreed to drive over to Lake Merritt. We found parking on the street and then looked up at the giant flight of steps ahead of us. I actually thought there would be more stairs, but was glad there weren't after walking up and down them once. There are pretty gardens and trees and greenery all around. Amy did a second lap while I waited at the bottom. A lady at the bottom kept going up and down the first set of stairs (five steps or so?) over and over. Perhaps she didn't see the other 100 stairs in front of her. read more

Doin' the stairs. Doin' the steps. Whatever you call it, your ass will thank you and you'll be happy when it gets back to where it belongs. Even if you don't consider yourself athletic, challenge yourself to a couple of rounds and go for it. The buildings and trees keep you nice and cool during warm days and safe and stable during windy days. read more

Beautiful place to work out early morning. It's just sad how people won't take care of the area. But the great thing is that every 1st of the month there's volunteers that come by an clean it up ... thanks for those people read more

I made it up three of the steps. Next month, after i have recovered, I hope to make it up five steps. The problem is how I'm gonna get down... I'll never make it to the top. I give this place five stars, since i have a hard time trashing the steps. read more

Over the years I've seen this place go from a over grown areas with steps on each side to a renovated beautiful historic land mark. I had some of my best workout in this areas. My best with out gassing out was running non stop up and down the stairs 10 times.. I really like what they did with the lights at night. I really glad that there are people in that community that care enough to spend time making this place vibrant and majestic. Keep up the good work!!! read more

Cleveland Cascade - Good morning. - Parks Near Me - Oakland, California

It's a great way to burn calories and pay the price for whatever indulgence you partook in over the weekend. For all fitness levels, amateurs to athletes. Lights out at 10pm sharp. Don't get caught in the dark! Nice partial view of the lake as well. read more

Love coming to Oakland from Modesto to do the killer stairs and Walk the lake. So relaxing. Love it

Beautiful place to come walk or run some stairs. A little gem in Oakland that I hope stays that way. It gets a little busier on the weekends, but its still chill. If you bring a dog, please scoop your poop so that it stays fresh and unstanky for the rest of us. Thanks! read more

I damn-near died on these stairs this weekend. I'm talking about ran, then jogged, then walked, then crawled up to the top and laid the fuck down on the ground for 10 minutes to catch my breath before I huffed and puffed my way back down and got in my car (at which point I considered driving over to Kaiser for an I.V.) I consider myself to be in pretty good shape, working out 3-4 times a week. Obviously, the elliptical is but a shadow of the real stepping motion. I thought I'd change up my routine and add the Cascade in on the weekend once or twice a month. NOT! My legs are still numb from the hip to the knee and from the knee down, my muscles are sore in the front and on the sides (where I didn't even know I had muscles). My calves are killing me and I have a slight limp today. Oh yeah, I did this two days ago. These stairs made me their bitch. Mad respect. read more

It seems bizarre to be reviewing stairs, but the Cleveland Cascade really is an Oakland landmark, not to mention an awesome workout! What I love about this local treasure is that I can mix up my workout by walking around Lake Merritt and hiking these stairs a few times for a little extra ass-whoopin, or if I don't feel like walking around the Lake, I can just do the stairs for a quick, strenuous workout. I guarantee these stairs will kick your ass (like the Mount Everest stairs at the Powell Street BART station), but only if you want them to. read more

This area is very nice and will get you sweating if you make a stop during a run. You can also catch some nice views of the lake.

I love this place! It must be weird for me to say that because it's nothing but a HUGE staircase! However, it's not only just a staircase! This place has a lot of history in it. These staircases use to be a waterfall where water spilled from bowl to bowl into Lake Merritt. It would have been a sight to see but someone turned the water off way back when. It is definitely a great place to show your friends, especially when you want to get them to exercise! read more

Wonderful spot to exercise, view the lake, rest, read, hang out

Great neighborhood park. I come here for boot camps and it's such a great work out! Keep in mind people live around here if you are using this space. Also, volunteers maintain this place so be nice to it! read more

Easy parking, near the lake, this Cleveland Cascade will make you wake, as you run up and down like an arcade. You will surely work out, but make sure you won't fall out. There are stairs on both the right and left, but you got to keep to your right. Many people come here for a few laps, it will definitely give you some thighs & buns workout= Sexy Legs. Also, it's a very nice area with several plants and a great view. You can even come here for the view & scenery. BUT, thing is that it's a pretty short route... so you want a long and good workout- you will end up doing several laps. read more

This spot rules. Great cardio, easy spot to stretch out. Always tons of gorgeous folks working out here, and into the lake... Oakland, you are a city full of beautiful people. Cleveland Cascade is proof of that. read more

burn baby burn! Take the steps 5 or 6 times and that is enough!

The Cleveland Cascade is test of will. They are the snakes in the pet shop that pee-wee herman avoids saving until the very end. When I approach them as I run Lake Merritt, I dred them, yet I'd be cheating myself out of a real workout if I don't conquer them. read more

Oakland hidden gem. I give up after 2 round of stairs! Seriously my legs aren't made for this place.

For the first time ever in life I went up the Oakland Cleveland Cascade stairs and my body is forever grateful. Before doing this I would watch tons of people run walk up and down and felt totally and completely intimidated by looking at other people who seemed to be in great shape but realize after being going up myself for the past two weeks I fit in like everyone else. After going up and down 5 times I thought hey if I had more time I could do it again and again. It was wonderful I cannot wait to go back. Looking to make this a weekly routine. read more

you can always expect a great workout on these steps!

SO close to home. So much rich history. I like to admire it from afar (across the street while walking the lake) but I also admire the people trudging up and down those stairs over and over again. read more

live in flatlands of the town and looking for a place to train? come on over! oakland has its share of hills and trails however if you don't want to drive out to go find nature- up the steep narrow roadways this is the place for you. just off the perimeter of Lake Merritt make sure to stop by and check it out. the cascade offers a quick climb, a set of staircases climbing the hills near the lake. you can find plenty of like minded individuals getting their workouts in and be motivated by the great company. how many laps you do is totally up to you. just remember what goes up... must come down :) until next time. cheers read more

Great piece of history here by the lake. I love to stop by and do 1-2 stair climbs as I'm jogging around the lake. It's definately a high burner! I saw some OFD training here, so you know its legit! read more

You can go hang out in the mini park up the hillside it's cool to chill there and eat or smoke or whatever. Walk up Lakeshore Ave. from either direction and it is a beautiful view! read more

This is absolutely my favorite cascade of all time. They've done some decent improvements over the past year that are pretty decent as well. read more

If your looking to bring sexy back. Use these stairs... Plus from the top the view is wonderful. Not much else for me to say, it is a great location. read more

Wonderful place, well used by exercisers (especially in the morning). Great views of Lake Merritt. Dog friendly.

Love it. Finish my run around the lake with a sprint up these stairs. And it WILL finish you off..

Great place to get that quick cardio! Get that heart rate up and burn those calories when i dont have time to jog the whole lake merrit.

As many people have reviewed before me: this is a great spot for a workout. The view from the lake when going down the steps is beautiful, and the view of sexy asses going up the steps is great eye candy too. The only suggestions I'd make are that someone enforce the no dogs allowed signs that are posted everyone inside the cascade. Dogs poo in there all the time and it's just ride when people don't clean up after their dogs! I know I'm being a step hog when I get irritated with people who clog the step path with their dogs on leashes, but THEY'RE the ones who aren't supposed to be there! The lit up view of this place at night is quite entrancing too! read more

They've added lighting to the stairs that makes it a lot easier to get a workout in at night!

Went here on a Thursday afternoon to get my tail feathers looking right for the summer. There were actually a significant amount of ppl there for 1pm on Thursday. My first thought was "Don't these ppl have jobs?" -- but I was there, and I have a job, so eh-- So back to the stairs, it's right across from the lake and between two apartment (or condo) buildings so it could be missed if you are driving too fast. There are levels to the cascade which I like to think get more difficult as you progress, like a video game. The first set of stairs are shallow and wide-you could almost skip up this set-no prob. By the third set, the stairs are steep and narrow. Gotta get those gams pumping to succeed. Comparatively speaking, I would give the Cascade about 3 stars bc in LA (where I'm from) we have the Culver City stairs where the labor to the top is more arduous and the payoff view more rewarding, but everything is better in LA-soooo (ha!) Anyway this is not a comparison review so it gets 5 stars: good work out, cool breezes, places to stop on the levels if you get tired, friendly people to talk to and encourage you. Afterwards or beforhand, you can take a walk around the lake too. I did this, met a fellow cascader there, who didn't have a job-hiyoooo! Lol! read more

Great spot located near the lake. I often stop here after running the lake to cool down. With the new lighting system in place it looks great. People have dedicated a lot of time to restoring this to its previous glory. Great place to go to get your buns burning! read more

The stairs at the lake is what we call it. This is a great way to warm those legs up. I usually go up and down about 3 times before walking the lake... you will enjoy! read more