I recently discovered this place. I actually think it's part of a school…read more Every friday they hold a round robin tournament from 6:30pm - 9:00pm. Sign in before 6:45 to guarantee your spot. *First time = free. Returning = $5 I really enjoy myself and learn a lot just playing with different people. They place you in a group of 6-10 people and you get to play everyone. I think about 50 people show up every friday so you don't have to worry about playing someone that isn't near your level. You record your score at the end of each game and BTTC will calculate your new table tennis rating and post it up on their website a few days later. -1star because of one certain staff member who is quite rude. Me and my friends were there for our 3rd times and he made us feel very unwelcome. To the point where were considering not to come back. Overall: Everyone is pretty friendly. I have a great time win or lose. Definitely recommend this place for any novice or expert table tennis player!

What an awesome place for ping-pong lovers. They have about twenty tables setup at the James…read moreKenney Recreation Center with hundreds of ping pong balls flying all over the place. Times are Friday 6 - 9:45 PM: Round Robin Tournament. Don't be intimidated. They have a wide variety of skill levels. Saturday 7 - 10 PM: Free play. Bring a friend or some friends. It's lots of fun to just hit around for fun. $5 for either. They even have ping pong ball picker-uppers: long tubes that you just push onto balls on the ground. The tables ping pong balls are both quality. This is a great place to improve your skills if you are primarily a basement table tennis player like me. Bring some exercise clothes and a water bottle--you will work up a sweat!

This review is long overdue form my time at Cal, but I went to RSF throughout my time at Berkeley…read moreand loved it. It was fairly good and clean gym, they do get super busy in the evenings and have time limits for machines (during busy times), but oh well. I did take taekwondo there too, though though I wasn't too keen on the teaching style. I did love the equipment, mostly running, used the pool, and it was fairly decent experience overall as a student

The RSF weight room is honestly the bare minimum. For a multi-billion dollar university like…read moreBerkeley, the lifting space feels like something you'd see in an underfunded high school.

Great little park away from the noise, cars, and hustle of the city. You want a little peace and…read morequiet to chill, read, or do nothing. Pro tip.... Bring a blanket in case the grass is wet. This is the place. Also, Hidden Cafe is right there for great coffee and snacks. (Closed Monday) This park stretches for a few blocks behind the busy streets with tennis courts, a kids playground and a clean creek flowing through it. Kids were playing in the creek and having a great time. The rope play structure is awesome. A very nice place to get away from it all in Berkeley and let's be real, there's a lot to get away from on Berkeley.

There's truly something for every age group at this park…read more A nice playground for the kids, basketball, volleyball, and tennis courts for adults and teens, and if you walk to the grassy area next to hidden cafe there's so many adults and families enjoying the outdoors picnicking. Great spot for casual hangs.

They had a small Chinese 9-Man Tournament at Lincoln Square Recreation Center in Oakland…read moreChinatown. They offer a few basketball courts, a jungle gym playground, etc. Two separate men and women's restrooms.

Such a great community environment. Went on a field trip with my sons school for New Years…read morecelebration. Everyone was so welcoming.

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.

TL;DR beautiful pool, beautiful gym…read more PLUSES: + outdoor pool = great view (campanile) + design is old, rustic, and beautiful + huge locker rooms + halls are perfect for a photoshoot

This 33-meter (108+ feet!) rooftop pool of Roman proportions and elegance is a treasure of the UC…read moreBerkeley campus. The locker room is approached by a walk through a sunlit hallway of old, multi-paned windows. The locker room is spotless, and fabulously equipped. Then, the pool itself...holy crap...first of all, it's on a ROOF, and it's made of MARBLE and mosaic tiles. And there are huge concrete terraces on which to sun and rest oneself, as well as to view eye candy from the waterpolo team doing leisurely laps as if just for show. The lanes are huuuuge so collisions are rare. In fact, it sometimes feels like the place is a secret even from the lucky students who can enjoy it, because I don't remember it ever being crowded. In fact, as the sound of the Campanile heard between breaths of the fresh Berkeley breeze blowing over the verdant quad can charm anyone into thinking that they are having a dream of liquid solitude. Here, I was able to break through my 2-lap ceiling and seal my love of swimming forever. Okay, one pain in the ass is that you have to pay a fee to rent out a locker...but at least you CAN rent out a locker! Another pain in the ass is that you have to wear a damn swim tag on your person to show that you are allowed to be in or around the pool in the first place...but the crispy, sun-yellow, and oh-so-filchable towels provided by the gym make up for all this... Yeah, so basically, there's nothing negative that can be said about this pool. It is a drop of Heaven on Earth.

Grew up a stone's throw from what Oaklanders officially reference as "The Lake." Growing up my…read morelittle brother and I would ride our bikes around the Lake while my mom speed walked. I moved away decades ago and always planned to revisit the Lake Merritt for old times sake. Well the day had come. I enjoyed beautiful special exhibit at the Oakland Museum and rounded my afternoon with a walk around the lake. The weather was perfect, an uncanny, warm February late afternoon for Oakland. Walkers, joggers, friends, families of all ages and shades: a lovely representation of the human tapestry of Oakland. My walk was a sweet, nostalgic memory of my childhood in Oakland and countless visits to Lake Merritt.

A great place to run and walk during the early mornings. Lots of residents and visitors come out to…read morewalk run and bike in the morning. Not too crowded a nice cool breeze to keep you cool while exercising and enjoying the view of the lake. There are bathrooms located around the lake some at the lake Merritt library but beware they are very rough. Safety wise lots of people and nothing crazy.