Lake Anza is a small, artificially made, nine-acre lake surrounded by a beautiful walking trail, forests and a mountainous landscape. Lake Anza offers swimming, fishing and sunbathing in a beautiful Berkeley hills nature setting. The area is so nice that on sunny weekends it is most often found with a “No Admittance, Beach Full” sign posted at the entrance. So if you come early you might get lucky and avoid the rush, but braving the crowds is well worth it if your looking for fun and relaxation under the Berkeley sun. Lake Anza was created in 1939 by damming part of Wildcat Creek. The original purpose of the lake was to water the lawns of the Tilden golf course but it has certainly been put to much better use! So pack a lunch and bring your friends, kids, towels and bathing suits and head on over.
Days Open:
Open daily April 16-23 for Spring Break.
Open weekends April 29 – May 14.
Open daily May 20 – Sept. 24.
Open weekends September 30 – October 8.
Fees:
$2.50 – 1 to 15 years
$3.50 – 16 – 61 years
$2.50 – Disabled and seniors 62/over
Free – under 1 year

Tilden Regional Park off of Grizzly Peak Blvd.
Berkeley, CA 94707

Telephone: (510) 843-2137
Website: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/coolthings/parks/Tilden/lakeanza.html
Cost: 2 USD per person
Hours: 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Swim at your own risk after 6:00 when lifeguards are off duty. Guard hours ma

Tips:

Nice to see that someone mentioned Tilden Park in places to go with toddlers. For the last two Saturdays I’ve been taking my 2.5 year old to Lake Anza. It’s quite wonderful. There is a nice “beach” for plenty of sand play and the water is roped off to mark where the lake gets deeper. The first six or eight feet from the beach to the first rope is a gradual decline to about two feet deep making it ideal for my fearless toddler to walk out into (his) neck deep water. There are LOTS of other young kids to play with and always seem to be plenty of unclaimed buckets and shovels in case you forget yours. On the edge of the “beach” is a large grassy area if you prefer and there are at least two lifeguards on duty.

Type: Sights & Activities
Tags: beach park Tilden Swimming Sun lake Regional swim lifeguards