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.

An amazing open space park, with room for plenty of activities and a playground large enough to…read morehold a large amount of kids! The playground has multiple areas for activities; sandpit, toddler play structure, large metal slide, and rope climbing jungle gym. The best part? The long rope swing! Parking was plentiful, and there were plenty of logs for parents to enjoy the shade while being close to their kids. Bathrooms are present as well as picnic tables.

This place has really gone to shit under the current garden manager. Be forewarned experienced…read moregardeners-your efforts to educate the largely novice gardeners (including the garden manager who knows nothing about gardening) will go unappreciated. The garden is crowded, with not enough hoses, rude and aggressive neighbors, and gardeners that couldn't spot a native plant if it was right under their nose. The rules are unclear-you'll sign an agreement that says 'no irrigation allowed' and look around to see that not being enforced. This leads to possessiveness around spigots, leaking irrigation, and just general self-centeredness-the opposite of community. I've seen gardeners killing bugs around their plots and raking up the natural leaves that fall from the trees where butterflies leave their eggs. No one seems to know anything about composting and so the compost bins go untended and neglected. Supposedly this is an organic garden, but there is no real knowledge about integrated pest management or how to garden with nature. Add to that the regular drug dealing and drive by shootings (just last month, in fact) that take place...yep, not that great. So glad to be leaving this awful place!

Good place to get some quiet time, feel peaceful and get in touch with nature. Probably a great…read moreplace to grow vegetables, fruits, have a garden, especially for people that don't have a garden or planter. With it being an organic garden that must mean that the soil is free of pesticides, so that's great! There is a wait list to grow things here. I was just in the area so I dropped by here because I was curious what it had in here. There are garden plots and planters with different things in them that people are growing whatever they choose to grow here such as, tomatoes, leafy greens, flowers, etc. Also it's good to get back in touch with nature to destress, whether it's visiting parks, or planting foods. When planting foods it reminds us to be patient, that things take time (some of our lifestyles have us rushing so much thay we rush even when we don't need to rush. If we rush all the time, when and where will we relax?) When we put our effort into something such as this garden, we appreciate it more and are therefore happier.

the Emeryville Community Organic Garden, ECOG, is a huge bonus to living in Emeryville. With the…read morediminutive size of most condos, it's great to have a little outside space to plant some veggies and take in the air. Plus points for being unlocked and open to the public (and to the public for not regularly raiding our plots), for beautifying the new Emeryville pathway along Doyle, and for donating some 125 lbs of edible greens to local charities in the last year. This garden was established by the late Elaine Bradshaw Drukman, for whom a plaque and garden bench are dedicated. Elaine....great job, and rest in peace!

Medium size park with beautiful gate. Access on both 10th and 11th Ave and next to a school…read more There is a lot of love and care that goes into this park. It is obviously loved by the community surrounding it. Murals and artwork and small details make it feel like home. Access from 10th Ave requires going up or down lots of stairs. Access from 11th Ave where the beautiful gate is located is flat. Great place for playing basketball and beautifully landscaped. No dogs allowed.

Bella Vista park has been so loved! It appears to have spent the last 20+ yrs being actively cared…read morefor by its community. Acquiring, over time, a community garden, a series of murals, a maintained astroturf and playground equipment. As well as the debated previously secret amenities (read: Oaklandside). Who knows what the next 20 years will bring? Official word is no dogs. Most recent community word is no dogs during school dropoff, specified hours & children's activities (see photo). For the sake of cognitive processing, it might make more sense to just specify doggy hours than making a list of all the hours doggies aren't allowed and/or revert back to the no dogs, as dogs and children don't always mix. Check the 17XY beat NCPC facebook group for the most recent developments. The mural on the outside of the park is amazing!

I used to live within walking distance to this park and this was one of my basketball playing spots…read moreback in the day. I like how they dedicated the basketball court to Sarunas Marciulionis here. For those of you who don't know who Sarunas Marciulionis is, he's a Golden State Warriors player from the Run-TMC era Warriors who was from Lithuania, was one of the greatest international players of all time, and was one of the first Europeans to become a regular in the NBA!! But, back to the park. It covers one big block, has tennis courts, which honestly, are in pretty bad shape. Has a huge Football/Soccer field made from turf which is very nice. I do like how they made this on the hill, but the field is totally flat. I also used to come here because they used to have the Malcolm X Festival here once a year. I went with 4 stars because I have a lot of good memories here!!

This is a cute little community park and I like coming to events here. I've been coming here for…read morequite awhile usually to the event that eventually became the Malcom X Jazz Fest. It was fun. It's smaller than I remember. But there's a nice set up and there is a shady (under the trees) area and an open sunnier area. There are also courts where people can play with balls and that's a nice touch. One I don't remember from years ago. The playground looks new too and that's a nice touch. I don't live in the area, otherwise, I'm sure I'd visit a lot more often.

Park and historical museum. I never viewed the portion with the museum yet. Its in an old house and…read moreI one day look forward to touring that old home. The park is in ok shape - especially for Oakland standards - its not Disneyland and things aren't perfect but things are good enough to bring people together without problem. It could shine if it had some cleaning and more detail into the garden areas - but its all cost prohibitive especially for the city of Oakland - last I checked the city was broke and somebody just got $6,000,000 for hitting a pot hole - a record for the payout of a pothole. At night its a bit dark - I do like the multiple access points this park has to offer - it makes it more connected to the surrounding families and the community.

Secret gem layered with history and culture, this is a dynamic park in Fruitvale used by over a…read morethousand school children and young people throughout the year, also has cultural festivals, community gardens, a pavilion (for rent). Happily surprised to discover it! If you happen to be in Fruitvale or are coming to town and want a truly rich Oakland experience, stop by or book a tour of the old Peralta house museum and grounds.

Nice-sized municipal rose garden located a block off busy Grand Avenue. A good place with benches…read moreon various terraced paths with a large variety of rose bushes and trees. Has a reflecting pond and a terrace for weddings. There is also a path recognizing the Oakland Woman of the Year with names since the 50s? Many plants are not blooming yet as of early May. Should be glorious in the next few months. No dogs or bike riding in the garden although I did notice a few people letting their dogs run wild in the non-rose bush upper terraces.

Beautiful rose garden…read more Wonderful walkthrough Benches all around with scenic picnic areas What a gem!

So underutilized and such a nice walk. Plenty of places to rest and eat a little snack.read more

Maybe the most valuable gems are those that we don't even consciously recognize. Goodness for…read moregoodness sake, but without ostentation, without look at me. Roots. Take the Emeryville Greenway as a perfect example. Recognizing that this particular emerald swath is off the radar of many in the Bay Area, it has its relatives that live in the various locales. Like the Bay Trail, the Filbert Steps, the Cleveland Cascade, the greenway in Visitacion Valley. Each of these special places has its own unique origin, each bring a unique benefit to the neighborhood in which they reside. In Emeryville, this Greenway was historically a spur off the main Union Pacific rail corridor, branching near what is presently the Bay Street commercial complex north towards Berkeley. This short line delivered freight and at one time passengers to businesses and destinations along the way. The last industrial customer shuttered in or around the 1980s and with the closing of this customer came the exhaustion of corridor purpose. Enter imagination, enter creativity. The repurposing of this few miles of former rail corridor as a length of walking/biking path, playgrounds, community gardens resulted in I believe far, far more than ever even remotely calculated. All the abandoned factories are gone, either rehabilitated for something new or taken down and rebuilt. The fenced abandoned land now grows herbs and flowers and vegetables. Go out on a sunny day which is pretty much all we've had in 2014 and it will be ultimately to our detriment for now it's so sweet and see all the people walking and holding hands and slowing down for just a couple of minutes in an otherwise frenetic day. From an urban planning perspective, there are four reasons that Oakland and Emeryville look as different as they do. The Greenway isn't one of the four, but it has the same fundamental genesis, the same roots. It's cool. A destination in its own right if planning trips your trigger; a side trip if something else has brought you to these parts. Next to the Horus, learning about stuff like the Greenway is pretty much my favorite part of working in these parts. Thanks guys, for making this all possible.

I have never been to an urban farm in West Oakland and my friend had her big birthday bash here and…read moreit was fabulous as there is plenty of street parking and the weather was perfect for an outdoor party! Plenty of space and shade. There is also a kitchen with refrigerator to store food and drinks and a handicap bathroom as well. It was a great place to have a party. She anticipated over 100 people and only half came so there was plenty of room for children to play, seating for everyone, room to dance and she also had our friend's band play as well as music from a dj!

Such a gem. There is a children's play area, kitchen, live animals, and so much more. I love how…read morecommunity oriented this park is. We had a nice meal prepared in the park's kitchen; many of the ingredients came straight from the farm. Today there were blueberry/blackberry waffles, strawberries, cornstarch waffles(corn came from farm, see picture), watermelon, and fruit infused water. The chicken coup is towards the back where people are allowed to go in, view the chickens' home, and feed them. Someone mentioned that there are rabbits as well but we did not see them today. On to the childrens' play area. It's a little small but meets the needs of the park. There are two swings, a rock climbing wall that leads to the slide, monkey bars, a see-saw, and some other stuff that I don't know the name of. There is even a cute little house and a shaded bench area where parents can chill and watch the kids. Of course, there are gardens everywhere. The plots belong to various families, it sounds like many of them live in the area. I believe there is a public garden as well. I checked the website before coming and could not find any sort of events schedule, but the farm does have an Instagram page so hopefully I can find some helpful info there. The park is located in an industrial area. In fact they are building some condos(?) right next to the park which looks a bit odd. Still, I look forward to returning to this park for a quick escape.