Category: Berkeley

Location: Kensington in the Berkeley Hills, Solano County, CA
Source: Below the Hayward Fault walk, from the book, Hidden Walks in the East Bay & Marin by Stephen Altschuler.
Features: Central village district with cafes, market, wine/cheese shop and hardware store. Hidden pathways through hilly residential area. Great views of the San Francisco Bay.

With current knee issues, I needed a short walk and the Kensington walk from Hidden Walks books filled the bill. Besides, I’m curious about this tiny, unincorporated village in the East Bay Hills.

Starting just below the central ‘village’ of the town, you wind through some nice hidden paths where you can get some beautiful views and see some interesting pine trees.

Location: Lake Anza/Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley, CA
Source: Tilden Regional Park: Lake Anza hike from the book, East Bay Trails by David Weintraub.
Features: Loop around Lake Anza, a recreational swimming reservoir in Tilden Regional Park

It was a gorgeous summer day for a relatively short walk around Lake Anza. Starting by the pool entrance area, I started walking on the left side trial which crosses a creek and then circuits the lake. Scrambling over some rocks wasn’t the best thing for my strained knee but there was some beautiful views and a fun narrow section to test your balance right by the waters edge.

Overall, a fun, short hike that is not far from home.

 

Location: Rock Parks in Berkeley, CA
Source: The Rock Parks  from Berkeley Walks by Johnson/Byron
Features: Traveling through old neighborhoods via sidewalks and hidden paths mixed with large volcanic rocks and rock formations.

Location: UC Berkeley campus in Berkeley, CA
Source: The UC Campus Walk from Berkeley Walks by Johnson/Byron
Features: Groves of trees, creek, bridges and many impressive and diverse campus buildings

Started at Center and Shattuck in downtown Berkeley and headed up to the campus passing by a row of casual eating spots.

Once inside the campus you’ll notice the impressive trees; many large redwoods can be seen. Strawberry creek is crossed over many times by a variety bridges.

Near the far east side of the campus by Haas School of Business, but before Memorial Stadium, I crossed the street to visit International House and its large coffee shop.

Since the fog was making this a chilly walk, I decided to shorten my trek by   returning to downtown Berkeley via Bancroft Ave.

 

Location: Codornices Creek neighborhood in Berkeley, CA
Source: Berkeley Walks by Johnson/Byron
Features: Codornices Creek, watershed and an urban waterfall.

Nice afternoon to walk a portion of the Codornices Creek Walk from the book, Berkeley Walks. Warm day but the fog could be seen making an appearance over the San Francisco Bay.

I shortened the walk by starting on Hawthorne Lane (by Vine) and proceeded up the Vine Lane path. I then walked up Euclid to the famous Rose Walk with it’s Maybeck designed entrance of steps and clustered community of houses. At the end of the Rose Walk, you keep heading straight up into the hill on Shasta Road which bends north (see the gorgeous watershed and Swiss chalet style house at 2645 Shast) and then forks into Keith Ave.

From Keith Avenue, the Berkeley Walks guide has two optional paths and trails that take you further up into the hill, but I found one of the paths closed with some orange cones due to renovation work.

Since I wanted to shorten the walk a bit, I proceeded down the steep El Mirador Path stairs. Lots of whimsical artifacts like gnomes and a painting dot this path!

I then followed Euclid back to the Berkeley Rose Garden and Codornices Creek Park across the street. At the park, you can find the closed off entrance to a tunnel. A curious urban explorer would probably circumvent this fence!  Go through the tunnel which takes you to the an area by the Rose Garden tennis courts. Follow the little path behind the bathroom to bypass  another fence.

After the Berkeley Rose Garden, I continued on Euclid until I found my way back to the top of Hawthorn Terrace and my starting point.

Location: Claremont neighborhood by the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, CA
Source: Rockridge to Claremont walk from Berkeley Walks by Johnson/Byron
Features: Claremont Hotel, impressive large homes designed by renown architects.

 

 

Location: Aquatic Park and Berkeley Marina in Berkeley, CA
Source: Aquatic Park and the Marina walk from Berkeley Walks by Johnson/Byron
Features: Lagoon with interesting businesses, walk over I880, Berkeley Marina, parks and coastal views

Location: McGee Spaulding neighborhood near downtown Berkeley, CA
Source: McGee Spaulding District walk from Berkeley Walks by Johnson/Byron
Features: Historically interesting region of central Berkeley that was once a rural farm land.

Location: ‘Maybeck Country’ neighborhood in the Berkeley Hills in Berkeley, CA
Source: Maybeck Country walk from Berkeley Walks by Johnson/Byron
Features: Architecturally rich area of the Berkeley Hills

Location: ‘Maybeck Country’ neighborhood in the Berkeley Hills in Berkeley, CA
Source: Maybeck Country walk from Berkeley Walks by Johnson/Byron
Features: Architecturally rich area of the Berkeley Hills