1. FM Smith Park

    1. FM Smith Park

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    Oakland, CA

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    FM Smith Park

    3.8 (10 reviews)

    FM Smith Park Photos

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    Kidlet play area
    Lempi M.

    This is a 1.66 acre park at the corner of Park Boulevard and Newton Avenue. It has a little playground for toddlers, a larger playground for big kids, and a gorgeous basketball court donated by the Golden State Warriors. It's Also home to the FM Smith Community Recreation Center, a quaint brick building that's the place to vote in this neighborhood that offers a variety of community events, a daycare collective, and a variety of after-school activities. There are beautiful HUGE redwoods and picnic tables and benches scattered throughout and a BBQ pit. All in all it's a pretty nice space. I sometimes have birthday parties for my kids here. Still I have my gripes-- lots of drug dealing goes on here from twilight to dusk. I found a bag of marijuana here that was the size of half a loaf of bread, all buds. WTF!!! And there are crazy people. Once some guy threatened to kill my husband, while he was pushing our 18 month old on the swings, for allegedly looking at him wrong. It's also dark enough at this park for a sexual predator to feel comfortable enough to sexually assault a woman here, beat her to death and dump her body. If that alone isn't enough to convince the city to put in more lights, probably nothing will-- and it didn't. It's still dark. And the no dogs allowed policy Oakland has is just ludicrous. Every world class city has a culture of allowing leashed dogs in park, and has a policy to fine the dirt bag owners who don't pick up their poop. I guess the city of Oakland doesn't want the dogs scaring off the drug dealers. Seriously...when I tie my dog up near the entrance, the citizens who are using the park to recreate come and pat him.. But the miscreants who are there to get drunk, sell drugs and be general cretins don't seem to like him much. Hours of Operation Monday 9:00 am ~ 10:00 pm Tuesday 9:00 am ~ 10:00 pm Wednesday 9:00 am ~ 10:00 pm Thursday 9:00 am ~ 10:00 pm Friday 9:00 am ~ 10:00 pm Saturday 1:00 ~ 5:00 pm Sunday 1:00 ~ 3:00 pm

    Marker for "SMOKEY a good mule" @ [Francis Marion "Borax"] F. M.  Smith Park, Oakland, California.

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    1 year ago

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    6 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    15 years ago

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    5 years ago

    Nice spacious park. Has a lot for the kids to do and play with. Metered parking until 6pm with a 2 hour limit. My son enjoyed it.

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    13 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    14 years ago

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    15 years ago

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    12 years ago

    Childhood memories, great summer programs, school programs, learned how to ride my bike here.. nice playground.

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    Doyle Hollis Park

    Doyle Hollis Park

    4.4(26 reviews)
    3.7 mi

    Nestled in a neighborhood of Emeryville off 62nd lives a park full of climbs, spins, slicing and…read morerocking. Parking is street in a residential area, free of meters and parking time limitations. The park is closed off to traffic, so crossing between the tot and big play areas is pretty safe. It is very quiet, even with the sounds of children and adults. There are two benches directly on the play area of the big kids (5-12), with three additional double benches with attached tables. There are well maintained, stocked restrooms directly off the big kid play area. Littles and parents will have to time their potty time as it is about 30-45 seconds from the tot play space. Definitely a cute little neighborhood park to visit if you are in the area.

    Found a surprisingly nice little park!…read more It's not very big, but the design is thoughtful, clean, and comfortable There's plenty of shade , so even on sunny days it's not too hot--perfect for a relaxed playtime. Playground features: Slides, climbing structures, and spinning toys--great for kids of different ages There's also a toddler area , so little ones can play safely Special highlight: There's a community-donated free toy area Lots of different toys to play with--kids will feel like they've discovered a new playroom Bonus: There's a small path running through the park Kids can safely ride scooters or bikes--spacious and easy to move around Amenities: Restrooms (big plus!) Benches for parents to relax Heads up: Parking nearby can be a bit difficult, so plan some extra time or go earlier

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    Doyle Hollis Park - Big kid play area (5-12)

    Big kid play area (5-12)

    Doyle Hollis Park
    Doyle Hollis Park

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    Jean Sweeney Open Space Park

    Jean Sweeney Open Space Park

    4.7(47 reviews)
    1.7 mi

    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!

    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.

    Photos
    Jean Sweeney Open Space Park - Restrooms to the right and water fountain

    Restrooms to the right and water fountain

    Jean Sweeney Open Space Park - Little kids play area

    Little kids play area

    Jean Sweeney Open Space Park - Under the Pavilion.

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    Under the Pavilion.

    Middle Harbor Shoreline Park - Port of Oakland

    Middle Harbor Shoreline Park

    4.3(100 reviews)
    4.1 miWest Oakland

    Massive urban park with public shoreline and unobstructed, panoramic views of the SF skyline and…read morebeyond. It may feel a bit desolate and empty but it is a well maintained park with benches, trails, restroom, and an observation tower. There was a security car patrolling around, which made this urban area feel more safe to wander solo, but still recommend staying alert and leaving no trace of belongings in your parked vehicle. The views are amazing here! Truly a photographer's paradise. You can walk right up to the shoreline and watch the sunset. There's a lot of ducks, geese, and pelicans which I enjoyed bird watching before sunset :). It gets really windy here and some seating areas (picnic tables and benches) can be found tucked into little areas with wonderful views. You can watch the huge shipping containers being unloaded/ loaded on at the port of Oakland. Great spot to spend a few hours and admire the views.

    This is a little known park with excellent views of the Bay, San Francisco and the shipyard. It is…read moreusually practically empty with plenty of parking. There are lots of benches along the way so you can sit and watch the boats go by. You have an excellent view of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. It's great for taking children on a bike ride, scooter ride or skating because there are many paved surfaces. You can park directly in the first parking lot when you come in or you can drive down to where you can watch the cargo ships load and unload their containers. Young kids love to watch that. Minus one star for the barren landscaping but other that that, a great place to check out.

    Photos
    Middle Harbor Shoreline Park - The Bay..

    The Bay..

    Middle Harbor Shoreline Park - Wide-open spaces with trees and footpaths.

    Wide-open spaces with trees and footpaths.

    Middle Harbor Shoreline Park - More space!

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    More space!

    East Bay Regional Park District - Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park

    East Bay Regional Park District

    4.7(595 reviews)
    5.7 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.

    Photos
    East Bay Regional Park District - Reinhardt Redwood Regional Preserve

    Reinhardt Redwood Regional Preserve

    East Bay Regional Park District - Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park

    Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park

    East Bay Regional Park District - Reinhardt Redwood Regional Preserve

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    Reinhardt Redwood Regional Preserve

    FM Smith Park - parks - Updated September 2026

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