"Can we go hike with the cows this weekend?"…read more "With the cows??... Oh yeah! We haven't done that in a while, huh?" "Yeah. I want to go hike with the cows this weekend." "Ok, my little darling. Let's go hike with the cows." "Can I pet the cows??" "No. Don't touch the cows. Remember that time I tried to pet one of the cows and it almost ran all over me?" Plenty of car parking. No bathrooms. Spectacular views! Latch the gate after you go through so the cows don't get out. Don't pet the cows. If you choose to give a thumbs-up or not, I hope you found my review helpful!

Views, trails, nature, trees and benches. Everything you need to enjoy a bit of a hike is here…read more I've never been before last week. We all get stuck in a rut I think and its great to sniff something you've never sniffed before. Dogs like that humans like that. Great place to walk the trails for a mile or two. Lots of nature - lots of land that doesn't have endless concrete and houses or apartments - and in the bay area - that is basically all we look at all the time. Some people travel the world I think looking for something. Why not explore your own backyard first to see if you can find what you are looking for?!

I've found a way to hike and enjoy this pastoral country area from the north, and not the southwest…read more( which is where the proper parking lot is). Finding easier parking alternatives and quicker avenues to get straight onto a trail is the name of my game! PS there's even a street nearby named JANA VISTA! No joke!

The maintenance guys are kind of pricks. I also noticed they don't seem to tell the white people to…read moreput their dogs on leash, but they sure as hell told me to put mine. And the maintenance guy yelled at me because I didn't have a dog bag on me because it had dropped accidentally on the walk. Said I'd walk back to the car, but he still blew his lid. I don't like this park.

Beautiful views of the Bay!…read more The trails are steep, with plenty of gravel and poison oak beside the path. Be careful to stay on the trail and wear pants. There are no bathrooms. They have benches along the paths so you can sit and enjoy the scenery. Parking is easy, with plenty of street parking. Saturday can be a little hectic because the recycling center is open and there is limited parking. My go-to hike for a peaceful, fast hike with beautiful views! Cuatro catorce dos mil viente cinco

Great place with awesome views. Steep if you go west to east, can be muddy. But! Dogs on leash only…read moreand bicycles/ebikes/motorized vehicles NOT allowed. Only open sunrise to sunset.

I bet many in the Bay Area haven't heard of Brooks Island Regional Shoreline and don't know where…read moreit is. I heard about Brooks Island though a hiking friend only a few yrs ago. One reason it took me so long to visit it is cuz you need to have RSVP to be lead on a Guided tour of the Island. I finally made RSVP through the East Bay Regional Park District by calling 510-636-1684 and signing my hubby and me up for the Brooks Island "Outfitter" Paddle which is $85 pp. It's expensive but it's something new & exciting. We meet at the Richmond Marina and you can park your car for $10 there, or take your chances in the FREE lot on the Right, or the street. We took our chances and the car was still there after the class (don't know about you guys). The class we had on Sat 6/7/07 was from 11am-4pm. There were about 11 of us. 2 kayake guides & a botanist. Kayaking to the island is only 1/2 a mile away, but it's Hard. Especially for us since we don't kayake. Everyone (older & more experienced) passed us, and we were the last ones. After we get to the Island we then have a potluck lunch (we all had to bring something to share for 7 ppl-we brought store bought cookies). There is a Caretaker that lives on the island that took us on a guided 2-mi hike around the island which is normally closed to visitors. Lots of birds to see if you bring binoculars. The views we had were just ok cuz it was hazy, but on a nice day should be nice. After the hike we had to kayake back which was easier. It's worth it to sign up for an outing if you've done everything else in the Bay Area & interested in this regional park. Website: http://ebparks.org/programsearch Search under: Brooks Island Regional Shoreline for activities

Foolish and naive, I kayaked out here once upon a time, only to be yelled at relentlessly by a…read moreperson protector already there that we were not allowed to step on the land. ECOLOGICAL PRESERVATION, can somebody say?! woops; mea culpa Cool thing is, you are allowed to stop on the north spit of the island, which is what we did to enjoy the wondrous views of the Bay, spot a sea lion (or was it a seal?) frolicking, and glory in that CA sun. straight from their website: "NOTE: You may only access Brooks Island as part of a scheduled East Bay Regional Park District naturalist tour. Please call the Reservations Department at 888-327-2757, option 2 or visit www.EBParksOnline.org for the current schedule of trips."

This is probably the third marina I went to in the north side of East Bay. They have a nice park…read moreand with boats parked at the side. There weren't really many people here, but there seem to be residents to seem to like to walk around here. I can literally see SF and some bridges from here, but it's quite far compared to other marinas like the one from San Leandro and Emeryville. I also like how the sidewalks are created here. They seem to do a good job at creating them. This park is connected with the San Francisco Bay Trail. So if you want, you can visit other areas around here using that trail.

Its always a wonderful time here for my family & me. Please come down, take a walk by the water. We…read morego to fireworks most July 3rds here. It was a beautiful night once again. Enjoy! Peace & love!

Wish I knew about this garden when I was a student at CAL. This park is part of the landscaping…read moreprogram at CAL. Even the door was inconspicuous and at first glance, we were not sure if the entry was the secret staff entry or an actual entryway. It was my first time here and it was hidden in a quiet Kensington neighborhood. I accidentally found this park on Yelp and didn't think much about it but my hubby and I were surprised how charming this park is. It was like a little fairyland full of ethereal cottage flowers such as wispy cosmos moving with the breeze and happy bees everywhere. There were volunteers planting Benary zinnias and other flowers. There was a clean bathroom inside their office and plants offered for a donation. I saw mothers with their babies talking as if they come here all the time. There was a group of elderly women chatting and enjoying the peaceful garden. I was there for 30 minutes before lunch and only saw about 35 percent of the garden and I look forward to another trip to this secret garden in Kensington.

This garden is a bit off the beaten path, it's part of UC Berkeley but 3.5 miles north in the hills…read moreof Kensington. I was surprised because it was much bigger than I had imagined. At 10 acres it's a pretty decent size with a maze of little trails to explore and over 1,500 plant species. I wish they had more signage of what everything was, there were a few placards but for people that are really into botany it would have been more interesting. My favorite parts were the views of the bay and the redwood forest nestled near a creek. It's very calm here, probably because it's only open on the weekdays so it doesn't get too crowded. It's is ideal for a romantic stroll, or to take a meditative walk and it has many benches around to sit.

What a great park! As a new mom, I'm always on the hunt for great parks throughout the East…read moreBay...and Arlington Park has made the list. There's a few things I currently look for in a park before frequenting: is there easy/convenient parking, are there swings for not just the older kiddos, is there an open grass area for play or picnic, are there slides or safe infrastructure, and most importantly, is this a place I can make memories with my little or just unwind a bit. The answer to all of the above for Arlington Park is yes. I'm surprised how many parks don't have swings anymore, so grateful to those that do. Arlington Park has an incredibly large grass area to throw a blanket and bring a book to meet friends/take a break as well. Easy and free street parking, and did I mention there are ducks? Large enough to walk and spend some time, while also a great meeting spot. Would def recommend if looking for a new park or just a resting space and place. Well-kept grounds, perfect for keeping up the well being :)

Cute park with lake of ducks and turtles. Safe and pretty. Only issue is you have to go through…read morehoops to buy a key for the bathroom :-(

** The following review reflects my experience DURING the COVID-19 pandemic. **…read more If you've ever seen the back side of the northern part of the East Bay from Richmond to Berkeley, you'll see the rolling hills of Wildcat Canyon in the distance, and the little brown and black specks are cows. Before I discovered this gem of a semi-hidden half-mile trail, I thought the only way to get over there was either by way of Wildcat's main entrance up in the northern part of Richmond or miles away through Tilden Park in Berkeley, which basically translated into a commitment of hours of walking on the main trail. That's why this trail is so vital to anyone who happens to be in El Cerrito, Kensington, or North Berkeley and looking to get closer to those cows. It starts at the end of Rifle Range Road off Arlington Avenue. There's no parking lot, but street parking shouldn't be a problem as I've never seen it that crowded here, even on weekends. It descends right away, but the slope is gradual even if the surface can get rocky. It's a casual walk, but do be mindful of the sporadic poison oak on the side and the occasional coyote sighting. I've not seen one but there's always a first time. The trail ends at a picturesque small bridge that intersects with the main hiking route, Wildcat Creek Trail. Here you have several choices. You can go left and end up at Wildcat's main entrance. Or you can go right and make your way to Jewel Lake and the Tilden Nature Area (my favorite route). Or take one of four different routes up the hills to get upfront with the cattle, or you can just make the uphill return walk back to Rifle Range Road. No harm, no foul. Get your steps in! RELATED - Up for a hike? Here's a collection of trails I've walked and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2OrC8nU

Beautiful views, switch back upward trail through grass hill sides and foresty parts. Peaceful,…read morequiet nature.

** The following review reflects my experience DURING the COVID-19 pandemic. **…read more It's actually not that hard to imagine the motorcycle hill climb races that took place here nearly a century ago. The surprise is how this steep escarpment remained untouched by real estate developers given how suburban this part of El Cerrito feels. I keep picturing that scene in "The Great Escape" where Steve McQueen jumped the POW camp fence as a testosterone-driven act of Nazi defiance. He would've ended up on somebody's backyard deck or in a hopefully filled swimming pool if he tried it now. You can get there from the bottom of the hill on the sorta corner of Navallier and Blake where you see a little staircase and a flyer posted on the fence about the hill's history. Or alternatively, you can take the hidden hillside stairs of El Cerrito and enter at the top through the nondescript path from Potrero Avenue. From the entrance, the first segment affords you a wide foot trail and a panoramic view of the bay (photo: https://bit.ly/2PI6CXp). The hillside trail itself is rustic in either direction with a lot of tall grass and dead trees that look like they were cut and left there for years. And yet, the constant views of El Cerrito make it a more pleasurable experience than you would expect despite the unexpected appearance of immobile wild turkeys (photo: https://bit.ly/3kO4wAM). RELATED - Up for a hike? Here's a collection of trails I've walked and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2OrC8nU