The pool is great! And it's open way more hours this summer than the past. Pretty much 12-6pm…read moreeveryday for rec swim. FYI the pool is only open during the summer.

The Strawberry Canyon Recreation Area (SCRA) is a hidden gem located above the Cal Campus and on…read morethe road up the hill on the way up to the Lawrence Hall of Science. It features an outdoor swimming pool, a ropes course, locker rooms, fitness center, barbecue/picnic area, and the Haas Clubhouse. I've been here for a few private parties at the Clubhouse. But what I really enjoy is bringing the family here for a swim and a chance to hang out poolside or on the grass. It's quiet, peaceful and in lush surroundings. And it's only a short drive from the urban grittiness of my Albany home.

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!

I'll miss this place. Honestly, going off quality alone, the RSF is a very high quality gym with…read moremultiple rooms for anything you want to do, including combat sports like boxing or martial arts, basketball, squash, stretching rooms, group fitness rooms, and an Olympic-style pool. To be honest, I don't use all of those very much, but I use the weights a lot, and the weight rooms are also amazing. There are about 3 weight rooms, with most of the machines you'd ever want as well as 10 full power racks, so about 10 people can bench at a time and 20 people can do other barbell movements, not to mention the abundance of additional floor space for deadlifts. Where the RSF shines above commercial gyms is the availability of equipment. There are an insane abundance of plates, including 2.5 and 1.25 lb plates for micro loading and plenty of clips. There are also yoga mats, stretching equipment, barbell pads, and lifting belts that can be borrowed from the staff. The gym is also always very clean. The only negatives about the gym is that the staff are a little stricter than commercial gyms, such as that people always have to use clips, though this is fairly sensible. The bigger downside is that they don't allow any Olympic style movement (snatch, clean and jerk, etc.) so if you're interested in training these at all, this might not be the gym for you. Also, it often gets a little crowded during the school year peaking at around 5-7pm on weekdays (after classes get out), but that's expected, considering that there are like 30,000 people who have a membership to the gym at a given time (students of the university receive free access). Overall, if you are a student or otherwise have free access to the RSF, it really is a 5 star gym for most purposes, but as an outside person purchasing a membership, it'd probably be closer to 3 stars just because the membership is quite expensive and it often gets crowded.

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

From a six year old- "well I like the monkey bars and climbing pirate ship thing. And I also like…read morethe slide, creek and caterpillar!" Creek was a huge hit! Adult review, "I can get coffee near by at hidden cafe!" Win. Win.

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.

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.

Sunday, 1:00PM. The…read moreWKCRC hosted a league hoops game: *Decent lighting *Minimal seats for fans And then...? Compact gym. If it's a packed house, teams trying to warm up for the next game won't have much room. Be extra alert: one of my teammates had his car broken into here...

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.

Good for a nostalgic stroll…read more Lake Merritt is the center point of Oakland. A place I've been flocking to since I was still riding on training wheels. More recently, I've been paying closer attention to the structures and architecture that hug the Lake. It feels like walking through a time capsule. Spanish Revival, Brutalist, Mid-Century Modern influences, all speckled with reminders that we're definitely in the 21st century. I love that can see so many of Oakland's layers here. And it's also a place to get fed physically and spiritually, especially on a Friday. Sidenote: Seems like I'm seeing fewer geese nowadays? Hmm...

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.

My first time to the park. Visiting the area from NYC, and I'm loving the area. I am thinking of…read moremoving out here, but I am enjoying the vibes and meeting people when I'm out and about.

This Vortex is Phenomenal and our Meditation and Tai chi Sessions are Awesomeness!! Tune in and…read moreGround with Love