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    Blake Garden

    4.8 (53 reviews)
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    Cool rock
    Sagruilla P.

    This is truly a hidden gem and worth visiting, especially for a picnic. We enjoyed the trails through the lovely garden that was filled with birds, butterflies, art, and thoughtful paths. When we first arrived, we thought it was small, but they squeezed a lot into this space, and we could have stayed longer. There are clean bathrooms and lots of places to sit and meditate or read poetry or sketch.

    Beautiful view from up here.
    Todd R.

    Surprising large estate above El Cerrito, in Kensington, owned by UC Berkeley, the landscape design program is working consistently on this location. And it is a wonderful old estate, kind of haunting how the Spanish style mansion is slowly decaying. Many interesting plants are nestled at this wellspring of Cerrito Creek, many paths lead through redwoods, Koi Ponds, beautiful lawns, and numerous benches with a view. Their nursery allows a donation to acquire some of their plants, very affordably. It's a wonderful spot, a great place for a short hike/walk, and you can even bring your dog!

    Debbie F.

    Amazing free entry garden nestled in the Kensington hills. Views of San Francisco too the bridge. Parking on site. Vintage home not open to the public with koi filled ponds

    Joan A.

    One of the many hidden gems in this area. Note that this garden is only open on weekdays during business hours, but boy is it MAGICAL. This garden has beautiful views of San Francisco, wonderful shaded paths, two public restrooms (!!), and plenty of open space to wander. It's really something you'll have to experience yourself. There is a small parking lot adjacent to the gated entry.

    Selina L.

    I cannot believe this garden is free admission and free parking! I found this treasure of a place through Yelp so it is only fair that I write my own review of the place. Browsing through the pictures on Yelp, I had no idea how big this garden would be, so needless to say I was totally wearing the wrong type of shoes for this visit. There's some major walkways that are paved, but most walkways are dirt. I am pretty sure I ruined my favorite wedges. I thought we would only spend an hour there, but ended up spending 2 hours because it's so big and we wanted to walk on every single path. My husband and I came on a Wednesday. There's not many visitors, a couple of people walking their dogs and a photographer taking photos for a couple. From the highest part of the garden, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge. There's some little creeks with running water, I can't tell if it's natural or man-made. There's a lot of wild flowers and "easy" plants in this garden, it was fun looking around and seeing many varieties of plants that I had collected from neighbors through Buy Nothing over the years. I wish they had a gift shop for people to buy little plants. I surely would be interested! The pond in front of the house has really big Koi fishes. I wonder what they eat. The water doesn't look very clean.

    Ethan H.

    As others have noted, this place should really be open better hours. Because it's wonderful! An expansive botanical garden with tons of different interesting sections, great paths, twists and turns, various environments, bridges, a historic house, and a nice main greenhouse/lobby center. I learned the history of the house and the gardens only through overhearing other people talk, so I wish they had actual historic information on display too. But, despite some areas for improvement, this place is still so completely worth it. Can't be missed.

    I wonder how this huge tree got split?
    JoAnn S.

    I stumbled upon this place online, and asked my friend if she wanted to walk around there with me. She had been visiting there for decades. A great place to: do a walking meditation; do Yoga or Tai Chi; to catch up with an old friend; to take kids to run and play (however tree climbing, rock climbing, straying from the paths is not allowed), or arrange to volunteer in the garden. We went there in the beginning of November. Not so much blooming at this time of year, but each season brings its own beauty. By the way, this is only opened on weekdays. Next time my grandkids visit, I hope to bring them here!

    Bay views
    Jennifer N.

    I never heard of, let alone visited Blake Garden until yesterday, having been inspired by a recent article about it in SF Gate. It's truly an under-the radar and hidden gem tucked away in the hills of Kensington. It's not open on weekends and the lot is rather small. When I arrived around 11 on a Friday, I snagged the last spot. The gardens are free and the property is owned by UC Berkeley, cared for by their horticulture students. Quite a lot was in bloom on this April day and while the lot was full, the guests were spread out and solitude could be had. The garden is organized in sections that range from a Redwood Canyon to Mediterranean to a small koi pond and more. There's also a home on the property that is now vacant. I'd read it used to be occupied by presidents of the whole UC system. One visitor I spoke to mentioned that the amount in bloom and the care of the garden has improved over the years. She was equally in awe after multiple visits as I was for my first. Given I have a flexible workday, I hope to be back and spend more time here as well as see the garden change over the seasons. Lots of benches and overlooks to while away an afternoon. Gates close at 4:30. Tip: while the lot was full before noon, it was emptying out once I left. If it's full, Tilden regional park is nearby as a plan B.

    Pond across the estate
    Stephanie K.

    This is a beautiful clean small garden. In the spring it's filled with blooms. It's open on weekdays, understandably, as it is a teaching facility, not a commercial venue. It is free, and parking is free. It's pretty well maintained and an example of "together we can still have nice things if we take care of them." In the summer-time it's a lovely place to walk your dogs because they keep it largely free of foxtails, but do leash your dogs. I found the staff friendly and helpful as we tried to find our way back. It has amazing view of the bay, too.

    Montage of images from Blake Garden
    Ed U.

    I didn't know this bucolic place existed until I was reading about the town of Kensington on Wikipedia and saw it identified as a point of interest. In fact, it's the only point of interest that was cited. As a Cal Bear, I am embarrassed to find out that this is actually a random extension of the UC Berkeley campus, but in my defense, I never took a course in landscape architecture or environmental planning. I wasn't an outdoorsy type of undergrad. Instead I went for astronomy as my elective and still can't accept the conclusion that Pluto is not a planet. But I digress as I finally visited this garden for the first time when I snuck out of work a couple of hours early. Don't you judge me as I have worked plenty of overtime. Plenty. The problem is that while the garden is free to enter, it's open only on weekdays between 8AM and 4:30PM. That basically means we working lemmings don't get to enjoy the tranquility of the garden or the panoramic view as much as students and stay-at-home moms. Maybe that's a good thing as the rest of us shouldn't take this patch of greenery for granted. A sort of mini-Hearst Castle with a hint of Tuscan villa, the Blake House is the centerpiece (photo: http://bit.ly/2EhBqac), and the university president lived there up until eight years ago. It's not open to the public, but the surrounding gardens are what you want to see anyway. Shielded from the bay winds by the mansion, the formal gardens is flanked by a dramatic reflecting pool (photo: http://bit.ly/2Egf3BT). An arresting Chinese mandarin statue holds court in this part of the grounds (photo: http://bit.ly/2BWDeQp). A Mediterranean-style garden sits at the back of the house (photo: http://bit.ly/2FH0owD), and there's a cottage garden toward the parking lot with a pond (photo: http://bit.ly/2nEH50c), a scarecrow (photo: http://bit.ly/2FLa5Kl), vegetable garden, and vividly blooming blossoms (photo: http://bit.ly/2E53QVy). However, the focal point has to be the wooden benches and stone path on the bluff (photo: http://bit.ly/2EFKzXL). The view is gorgeous on a clear day, but you may be competing with a lot of baby strollers at any given time. The Art Deco-style entrance is nice (photo: http://bit.ly/2Egzn68), but you could easily miss it as it melts effortlessly into the residential area away from Arlington Avenue.

    Laura M.

    I visited this beautiful garden in April of this year and was so happy I did. The garden was in full bloom, gorgeous and lush! There was a nice variety of color, form and texture plus a grove of redwood trees representing flowers and trees we see around the bay area. I highly recommend this garden! It's only open during the week. http://flic.kr/p/25oSsEa http://flic.kr/p/H8Hz2g http://flic.kr/p/JFKs6E

    Bay view from the edge of the Blake Garden
    Terry T.

    Brittany N's review really made me want to visit this garden. I knew about it, however, I never realized what a great place it is to walk about in. Tucked away in a residential Kensington neighborhood it really seems like a hidden place. I felt like Mary Lennox in the "Secret Garden" when I walked in. Some of the things that make this garden special: The view of the Golden Gate, the sounds of birds singing, the insects flying about, gnarly tree trunks, reflection pools and meandering paths to explore. The sweet garden smell that transported me back to my childhood. The garden is only open on weekdays. It makes it a lot less crowed, but then people who work can not enjoy his special place. I guess I'm selfish, I like having the garden almost all to myself.

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    3 months ago

    Absolute gem of a location for recharging and getting away from chaos. Million stars!

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    10 months ago

    Beautiful gardens and grounds with numerous hiking trails, sitting areas, and views of the bay.

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    I love this place. Wish they were open on weekends. But if you get a chance to spend some quiet time here, do come and check it out.

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    7 years ago

    The perfect afternoon picnic date if your into beautiful parks and relaxing while taking in the gorgeous views.

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    Review Highlights - Blake Garden

    The gardens are free and the property is owned by UC Berkeley, cared for by their horticulture students.

    Mentioned in 7 reviews

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    Codornices Park

    Codornices Park

    4.6(161 reviews)
    2.3 miBerkeley Hills

    This park is just really cool. On afternoons and weekends it's usually packed full of people. It…read morecan be hard at times to find a parking spot but shouldn't be too difficult to park on a side street if needed. There are several parts to this park. One is a flat area with a play scape and a cement slide. There's actually a tunnel nearby that goes under the road and crosses over to the rose garden, which is really cool. The cement slide is a must see for anyone with kids and even if you're an adventurous adult. There are plenty of cardboard boxes around for you to try it out. When I first heard about the cement slide, I didn't think it would be very fun, (cement and sliding didn't go together in my mind) but it is great! Then just a little bit south, above that play scape area, there's a baseball field. So many different people come here to meet. Some people for picnics, some people play soccer, some people play softball, some people bring their dogs. And then inside the woods behind the park, there are a picnic benches. I have a friend who had her wedding reception there. You can reserve them with the city. And then behind the picnic area, there's a hike and if you're very adventurous, there is a waterfall hidden, but it's not easy to find if you don't know about it. I highly recommend this park. During the winter, the baseball field is blocked off with Fence to protect the grass but other parts of the park are accessible.

    Nice park, good playground for toddlers, and for babies, nice large grassy area, sort of a mini…read morehike to walk around, some barbecue / camping table spots, right next to the rose garden, bathrooms.

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    Codornices Park - 01.17.2025

    01.17.2025

    Codornices Park
    Codornices Park

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    Redwood Valley Railway - Tilden Regional Park Steam Train $4/ticket

    Redwood Valley Railway

    4.8(251 reviews)
    4.1 mi

    Open every weekend (weather permitting) including holidays 11am to 6pm…read more Super cute steam train that takes you around the park Tickets are $5 per person Kids 2 years and up need a ticket Credit card and debit card accepted Parking in the main lot gets full fast but there is additional parking not too far away and parking is free My little man enjoyed this ride I love making new memories with him

    Redwood Valley Railway was honestly way more fun than I expected. It's one of those small, somewhat…read morehidden attractions in the East Bay that you might not hear about unless someone tells you. But once you visit, it feels like a perfect little weekend activity, especially if you have kids or dogs. The main attraction is the miniature steam train that runs through the redwood forest in Tilden Regional Park. The train goes through trees, small bridges, and tunnels, and the ride is surprisingly scenic. It's about 12-15 minutes long, which feels just right--not too short, but also perfect for kids. Even though it's technically designed for children, adults definitely enjoy it too. There's something very nostalgic about riding a tiny train through the woods. One thing I really liked is how dog-friendly the place is. You'll see a lot of families bringing their dogs along, and it's honestly pretty cute seeing dogs riding the train with everyone else. The surrounding park area is also really nice, so you can easily walk around a bit or have a small picnic after the ride. That said, this place is extremely popular on weekends. There's basically always a line for the train. Because of that, timing really matters. I would strongly recommend arriving around 10:50 AM. That way you can usually still park in the main lot and get in line right before the first train of the day at 11. Getting on that first ride makes the whole visit much easier, otherwise the wait can get pretty long. Another cool thing is that on Sundays, there's actually another train experience nearby run by a train enthusiast club called Golden Gate Live Steamers. It's just further down the hill, and they usually offer free miniature train rides (donations encouraged) in the afternoon. Those trains are run by hobbyists and are even more "enthusiast style," which is pretty fun to see. Overall this place feels like one of those hidden local gems. It's simple, charming, and surprisingly fun. Great for a relaxed weekend morning--especially if you want something outdoors that works for both kids and dogs.

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    Redwood Valley Railway - Frist time here with the fam 5/31/2025

    Frist time here with the fam 5/31/2025

    Redwood Valley Railway
    Redwood Valley Railway - Frist time here with the fam 5/31/2025

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    Frist time here with the fam 5/31/2025

    Blake Garden - parks - Updated May 2026

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