Doyle Hollis Park

(66 reviews)

3.4 mi

This park is absolutely delightful. It sits in the city of Piedmont, which is a bit of unusual city…read moregeographically because it is completely encapsulated by Oakland. It's somewhat of an oasis in Oakland. And this park is an oasis within that. The park isn't huge, but it does the job. Love the trails, great with the dog, and every once in a while, they'll have the food trucks. Parking nearby is easy.

We spent a crisp morning walking throughout the variety of trails in Piedmont Park. There's a dog…read morerun, play structure, plenty of bench seating, and many shady areas to explore. The safety railings and paved walkways with extra grooves to prevent slippage, especially in steeper sections. The trails would also make a great place to run as most of the paving is flat. This is definitely a place for repeat returns.

Trails

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Trees

Joaquin Miller Park

4.4

(313 reviews)

6.1 mi

What a nice park; filled with greenery and trails galore…read more Park near the ranger station. Be sure to walk over to the nursery garden area too. The Sunset trail is a winner; get a brochure to view your route. Enjoy.

Beautiful park in Oakland. Lots of nice trails and there are dedicated off leash dog areas and dog…read morepark. Plenty of parking is available as well. There is a playground for children and steps for those that want to use stairs for their exercise routine.

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Marina Park

4.5

(59 reviews)

1.4 mi

Very elegant Marina to view San Francisco! I went to the Marina park at San Leandro and now here at…read moreEmeryville. I later learned that there are multiple marinas in the Bay Area and so far, I went to two of them as of today. This is pretty much like a smaller peninsula of the marina where you can relax and picnic here. It's really a great place to come here in the morning to get some breeze and walk around it. There are multiple benches here and that's really good because when sitting, you're basically viewing the peninsula, San Francisco, and as well as the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge. It's quite naturalistic here with much greenness here. I heard that you can make reservations to picnic at the benches. Also, there is a free 4-hour parking limit here and that's very long and that's fair enough since this parking lot isn't large especially when some parking spaces are reserved for permit holders or marina members I think.

Beautiful marina with plenty of free public parking spots next to the water. Nicely maintained…read morewalking path, green spots, long pier, water fountain for cleaning, expansive 180 view of the bay from Oakland, bay bridge, to Golden Gate Bridge all the way to 580-Richmond. Many benches for seating and viewing the sunset as well as tables spots for picnic. Access is easy off 580.

Walking towards Marina Park

1/2023

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1/2023

Jean Sweeney Open Space Park

(47 reviews)

4.7 mi

Never disappointed with a visit to Jean Sweeney Park. Our daughter enjoys the various play areas as…read moreshe navigates between the different areas, existing in some spaces longer than others. After parking, if you can find a spot, the first play area includes a trampoline, climbing structure, a wide metal slide and an oversized musical chime. To the right, a spacious mesh swing spins with kids constantly filling and spinning it. Directly in front is an ample sand area with a brick barrier surrounding it. To the left are three picnic tables. In front of the sand area is the smaller kids play area which is directly next to the restrooms and water fountain. To the left of the little play area is the zip line. When you go further in to the park, there is a covered area with lots of picnic tables and seating grouped together, more benches and lots of grass to play and explore further. There are paths to ride bikes, scooters, roller blades and skateboards. During warmer weather this park is packed. When we visited, following a prior event, there were already lots of kids on a gray, windy, overcast day. This park is spacious on the interior but parking on the exterior is limited. The parking lot is minimal for the amount of space to explore, which is awesome but makes it difficult to navigate up close parking. Street parking is not really existent unless you enter on the opposite end of the park.

Great park! First time there and my 4.5 yr old daughter loves it. Clean and big playground. Has a…read moretrail to walk around and if you have your doggy, great trail to walk around. Downside to this park, small parking lot!

Restrooms to the right and water fountain

Little kids play area

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Lake Temescal

(167 reviews)

3.2 mi

The Lake Temescal loop is a beautiful easy-medium short walk that's a little over a mile…read more As you walk the only partially paved trail you'll see a ton of wildlife (ducks and fish) and quite a few dogs being walked as well as a waterfall water feature. The views are picturesque and it's quite serene for how busy it is. The second half of the trail (after you loop around near the fallen tree) isn't paved and in poor weather would be likely too muddy to be particularly safe, so I would probably walk elsewhere after a good rain or while it's drizzling. All in all, we had nevr been to this lake before and it was gorgeous so we fully intend to return!

The waterfall and the beach area were a nice surprise. Looking forward to going there again.read more

They have a pay phone. No idea if it works.

The lake

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My dog enjoyed Lake Temescal... perfect walking distance with a beautiful lake.

Middle Harbor Shoreline Park

(99 reviews)

3.2 mi

This is a great park to be at by yourself or with company or even with a young child with a bike,…read moreit's just peaceful and not crowded, ever. I highly recommend it here.

This park says "Pets Welcome" -- what a complete lie. I showed up ready to enjoy the day with my…read moredog, and guess what? Every corner, every trail, every single area is covered in "NO DOGS" signs. Seriously, how can you say pets are welcome when dogs aren't allowed anywhere? On top of that, the park itself is ugly, smells terrible, and is insanely loud because it's right next to the Port of Oakland. Between the noise, the stench, and the false advertising, it's one of the worst park experiences I've ever had. I wasted my time, gas, and patience for nothing. If you have a dog, don't even think about coming here. It's not pet-friendly -- it's pet-hostile, dirty, and miserable

Wide-open spaces with trees and footpaths.

The Bay..

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More space!

East Bay Regional Park District

(595 reviews)

8.4 mi

This park is fantastic. The first time we visited was back in 2018 and honestly we can't remember…read morewhere we parked or which trails we hiked. But I know we enjoyed ourselves. Fast forward to yesterday. We had a restaurant in Albany that we wanted to check out so of course we had to hike first to get our appetites whet. I found a loop I wanted us to try on AllTrails. It's called the Dunn Trail--Monteiro Trail Loop. We parked at the Richard C. Trudeau Conference Center on Skyline Blvd. It was the perfect spot to start. Free parking. Public restrooms (even flush toilets!). If you have a dog, most of this trail is off-leash which I have never seen before. Every dog we saw were well behaved and having a great time. We don't have dogs of our own but I am a big dog person. This particular loop was exactly what I was looking for. It had several different biomes. Despite what AllTrails said, it is not all shaded but it was a beautiful, sunny, windy day. We saw lots of wildflowers blooming. We found there to be a difference between AllTrails and our measurements. AllTrails said it was roughly 500+ ft elevation gain but ours said 1000. That's a huge difference! But I would believe ours over theirs. There were a lot of inclines. Also, their's said it was 3.5 miles but ours said a mile longer. The trails were all very well maintained. We saw gorgeous views, small waterfalls/creeks, redwoods, butterflies--just lovely. It was less busy than I anticipated but we arrived before 9 a.m. We finished by 11. This is a big park and lots to explore. Highly recommend!

I went hiking at the Reinhardt Regional Redwood Park for the first time and loved it!…read more Plenty of street parking at the Redwood Bowl lot and we had no issues with vehicle break ins, luckily, although there were a few warning signs up to remind you to put your valuables away. There are bathrooms by the Redwood Bowl but we couldn't find any helpful maps so just used our phones to navigate. The trail we ended up taking was around 4 miles and took 2 hours. Most of it was shaded and among redwood trees so I really enjoyed that this could work as an afternoon hike. It's a moderate difficulty level with some steep areas. There's also a popular picnic area with grills and an archery range. You could even walk to the nearby swimming pool or visit the Chabot. We only did one half of the hiking loop so will be back to check out the other side.

Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park

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Alameda Point Waterfront Park

4.6

(7 reviews)

4.4 mi

Notable is the skyline views of San Francisco. Very new park near the brewery and 'spirit alley' -…read moreis that what they call it where Almanac is located? Come here for the views. Very pleasant in the evening when the sun is going down. Lots of new apartments in the area - and I suppose that is who this park is mostly for. This area used to be the old Navel Air station. It is slowly getting transformed one park and residence at a time. There is a lot of hidden areas here in the general area that most people probably don't know about. Scolaries food truck I think is one of the bigger highlights.

A great new park in Alameda!!…read more This park sprung up as a result of the Naval Base being shut down, as did all the nearby apartments.. This area is now called Alameda Point. This is a good park, located near the water. It's long, flat, and straight, seems like a good place for skateboarding or the like!! The art structure stands out here. Lots of places to sit here also. A very good addition to this area!!

Historical dates in Alameda's history

Sf skyline

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Frog Park

3.9

(50 reviews)

1.7 mi

Frog Park is located in the lower Rockridge area of North Oakland and is also right under the…read morefreeway, Highway 24 to be specific. It's definitely an original idea to have this park next to and under a freeway, the basketball courts are directly under it. Not sure how I feel about playing hoop under a freeway!! There's also a kids play area here, and the Oakland DMV is within walking distance down the street!!

Such a cute and fun park for the kids! It's huge and has 2 playgrounds! We had a ball!read more

Basketball courts under the freeway..

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Crown Memorial State Beach

(169 reviews)

5.4 mi

Fantastic beach for younger kids, and a great option for East Bay residents who aren't up for the…read moretrek into the city or the even longer drive to Santa Cruz. The beach is clean and has useful amenities, including outdoor showers, picnic tables, and restrooms. I haven't actually used the restrooms, so I can't speak to their condition, but I can say I've never noticed trash on the beach, even on busy days. The crowd is generally respectful, which goes a long way. The downside is that the water isn't exactly pristine by appearance, smell, or feel...but you can't have everything. My favorite thing about this beach, aside from the fact that the water isn't freezing, is how shallow it stays. I can wade out with my kid what feels like half a mile and still not feel like we're anywhere close to being too far from shore. P.S. Do NOT forget to pay for parking if you're in the lot. It's yellow, located at the far end, the fee is 5 dollars and it's easy to miss. Also, they don't accept Discover debit.

In The Teen and I's new Friday ritual of water watching before we head home, we stopped by Crown…read moreMemorial before heading through the tunnel to let traffic die down a bit.. This was definitely the place to be back in the day! Parking was a snap and we found a bench to sit on starting the water watching. The view was awesome and the sun was shining just like Bob Marley said. There were people, young and old playing in the sand, lots of bike riders, and of course, those dog walkers. The Teen put the phone down and ventured out and some sand, touching and driftwood drifting.. Definitely, we will be back when it gets warmer with hopes of finding front row parking again!

7/2022

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East Bay Regional Park District

(595 reviews)

8.4 mi

This park is fantastic. The first time we visited was back in 2018 and honestly we can't remember…read morewhere we parked or which trails we hiked. But I know we enjoyed ourselves. Fast forward to yesterday. We had a restaurant in Albany that we wanted to check out so of course we had to hike first to get our appetites whet. I found a loop I wanted us to try on AllTrails. It's called the Dunn Trail--Monteiro Trail Loop. We parked at the Richard C. Trudeau Conference Center on Skyline Blvd. It was the perfect spot to start. Free parking. Public restrooms (even flush toilets!). If you have a dog, most of this trail is off-leash which I have never seen before. Every dog we saw were well behaved and having a great time. We don't have dogs of our own but I am a big dog person. This particular loop was exactly what I was looking for. It had several different biomes. Despite what AllTrails said, it is not all shaded but it was a beautiful, sunny, windy day. We saw lots of wildflowers blooming. We found there to be a difference between AllTrails and our measurements. AllTrails said it was roughly 500+ ft elevation gain but ours said 1000. That's a huge difference! But I would believe ours over theirs. There were a lot of inclines. Also, their's said it was 3.5 miles but ours said a mile longer. The trails were all very well maintained. We saw gorgeous views, small waterfalls/creeks, redwoods, butterflies--just lovely. It was less busy than I anticipated but we arrived before 9 a.m. We finished by 11. This is a big park and lots to explore. Highly recommend!

I went hiking at the Reinhardt Regional Redwood Park for the first time and loved it!…read more Plenty of street parking at the Redwood Bowl lot and we had no issues with vehicle break ins, luckily, although there were a few warning signs up to remind you to put your valuables away. There are bathrooms by the Redwood Bowl but we couldn't find any helpful maps so just used our phones to navigate. The trail we ended up taking was around 4 miles and took 2 hours. Most of it was shaded and among redwood trees so I really enjoyed that this could work as an afternoon hike. It's a moderate difficulty level with some steep areas. There's also a popular picnic area with grills and an archery range. You could even walk to the nearby swimming pool or visit the Chabot. We only did one half of the hiking loop so will be back to check out the other side.

Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park

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Joaquin Miller Park

4.4

(313 reviews)

6.1 mi

What a nice park; filled with greenery and trails galore…read more Park near the ranger station. Be sure to walk over to the nursery garden area too. The Sunset trail is a winner; get a brochure to view your route. Enjoy.

Beautiful park in Oakland. Lots of nice trails and there are dedicated off leash dog areas and dog…read morepark. Plenty of parking is available as well. There is a playground for children and steps for those that want to use stairs for their exercise routine.

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Temescal Pool

3.9

(76 reviews)

1.8 mi

First time visiting this outdoor pool faciltiy on 1/17/26 (Saturday) during their public hours…read morewhich opens at 11am. Front desk staff was friendly and I was able to sign up for a 10 visit pass for $51, otherwise it's $6 a visit. I figured this will hopefully keep me consistent for the beginning of the year. The facility itself could use an upgrade but overall it is wat you would expect from an older building. The entrance into the pool is through the locker area which has lockers, changing area with benches, showers, and bathrooms. The pool looks fairly clean on the surface and we'll maintained. There are lanes divided into slow, fast, and medium speeds for circle swimming. Much of the demographics is 50+ during the time I went and they were all spaced out fairly evenly. The pool is actually open earlier for swim club members ($55/month) which is nice for early birds and the crowd seems younger at that time. I was told it's open to the public to sign up for that as well. The water itself was a good temperature. The pool goes from 3 ft to 9 ft. The bottom of the pool was clean on the 3 feet side, but had debris on the floor in the 9ft side. Folks would swim for about 30 minutes - 1 hour and more folks would flow into the lanes. Everyone is respectful and the regulars would chat with one another at the walls. There are kickboards and other supplies you can borrow from in a shed if you'd like. There is a lifeguard on duty. I asked her for the time, but she didn't know it, which I thought was odd because I could hear her talking on the phone or talking aloud. I asked another swimmer for the time and he said there's a clock right behind me, which I didn't see, and I'm surprised the lifeguard couldn't just tell me there was a clock to check. Apart from that, I enjoyed my one hour swim and got a reality check on how out of shape I am. I'll definitely come back to continue swimming and work my way up to the fast lane. Check out more recs and spots in the bay @thefoodhigh

Superb pool. The lanes are wide and the pool is heated. The pool length is 30 yards. The other…read moreswimmer are friendly.

Spring 2008 Intrasquad Meet

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Crown Memorial State Beach

(169 reviews)

5.4 mi

Fantastic beach for younger kids, and a great option for East Bay residents who aren't up for the…read moretrek into the city or the even longer drive to Santa Cruz. The beach is clean and has useful amenities, including outdoor showers, picnic tables, and restrooms. I haven't actually used the restrooms, so I can't speak to their condition, but I can say I've never noticed trash on the beach, even on busy days. The crowd is generally respectful, which goes a long way. The downside is that the water isn't exactly pristine by appearance, smell, or feel...but you can't have everything. My favorite thing about this beach, aside from the fact that the water isn't freezing, is how shallow it stays. I can wade out with my kid what feels like half a mile and still not feel like we're anywhere close to being too far from shore. P.S. Do NOT forget to pay for parking if you're in the lot. It's yellow, located at the far end, the fee is 5 dollars and it's easy to miss. Also, they don't accept Discover debit.

In The Teen and I's new Friday ritual of water watching before we head home, we stopped by Crown…read moreMemorial before heading through the tunnel to let traffic die down a bit.. This was definitely the place to be back in the day! Parking was a snap and we found a bench to sit on starting the water watching. The view was awesome and the sun was shining just like Bob Marley said. There were people, young and old playing in the sand, lots of bike riders, and of course, those dog walkers. The Teen put the phone down and ventured out and some sand, touching and driftwood drifting.. Definitely, we will be back when it gets warmer with hopes of finding front row parking again!

7/2022

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Alameda Beach

4.0

(165 reviews)

6.4 mi

Alameda beach is one of the few beaches in norcal where you can lounge at…read more We have been regularly doing our open water swims in the area and the water's always feeling relatively clean and refreshing. There is plenty of parking all along the roads and overall, a great place to reset in the mornings, evenings and on weekends.

This is the nearest beach I can find living in the East Bay. I decided to walk from the South Shore…read moreCenter, which is across the street on a sunny day. This is the driest beach I've ever been to; there aren't many people there in the afternoon, but it has a nice view of the Embarcadero in SF. Volleyball nets are available for the public. No dogs allowed. Great temporary beach therapy, but not much shade, and not worth swimming there.

Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary

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Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary

Splash Pad Park

3.7

(3 reviews)

3.2 mi

This park is small, but has a great location!!…read more Also home to the Grand Lake Farmers Market on the weekends, this is a great place to come to eat at after grabbing a bite at one of the nearby restaurants, especially on nice days when you want to eat outside. There's a small water fountain area here, plenty of parking under the 580 freeway, and plenty of areas to sit down. Decent Park!!

It's one of those, places in the Oakland area other than right on Lake Merritt a place where you…read morecan sit in feed the birds and watch people pass by Fun fountain structure for kids and nice enough on farmers market days, One of the places we walk by on our daily walks A gem of an urban park, mostly maintained by neighborhood volunteers. The Saturday farmer's market is year-round, and well worth a visit. Restaurants in the Grand Lake neighborhood (on Grand and Lakeshore) are diverse and welcoming. The Grand Lake Theatre shows first run movies and include an organ player on Friday and Saturday evenings. A walk around Lake Merritt is a 3 mile jaunt well worth the effort.

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Athletic Playground

4.4

(123 reviews)

0.6 mi

Really cool spot. Took a handstand class here which was excellent but there are also a ton of other…read moreclasses I want to take. Friendly folks, great facility.

Took a beginner silks class here and had such a great time! I was a little intimidated at first,…read morebut the excitement quickly took over. The instructor was super kind, encouraging, and explained each step clearly, which made it easy to follow along even as a total beginner. A few years back, my kids also took the parkour class and absolutely loved it--it was the perfect way for them to get moving and burn energy. Overall, this place has such a fun and welcoming vibe. Highly recommend for both adults and kids looking to try something new!