Free lawn bowling lessons every Wednesday and Saturday, 10:00am to Noon.

this looks like a lot of fun… i wonder how hard it is?

The Farmer’s Markets is a great source to find that fresh California produce, eggs, dairy products, fruits, and sauces, but also a great place to discover Berkeley’s avid food community. Strike up a conversation with a fellow patron and you might discover the most delicious way to cook your freshly purchased greens and beans.

There are three Farmer’s Markets in Berkeley. One is held every Saturday on Center St. above Martin Luther King Jr. Way right next to MLK Jr. Park. The second is held every Tuesday on Derby St. and MLK Jr. Way. The third is the All-Organic North Berkeley Farmers’ Market held every Thursday on Shattuck Ave. and Rose St.

The Berkeley Farmer’s Market has better prices for comparable quality produce then the SF Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market.

Indian Rock Park is one of the best places to go rock climbing in Berkeley and one of the best places to see gorgeous views of the San Francisco Bay. The park’s facilities include, a large rock formation with carved steps, outcroppings for rock climbing, picnic tables and grassy play areas.

From the 80 East Freeway take the Buchanan St./Albany exit. Make a right turn when you exit and drive straight. Buchanan Streen will turn into Marin Ave. Drive on Marin Ave for at least a mile until you reach the Marin Circle with a beautiful fountain in the middle of the circle. You want to go 65% around the circle and get on Indian Rock Ave.

Founded in 1968, Berkeley Repertory Theatre has established itself as one of this country’s top-ranking professional resident theatre companies, known for its consistently high-quality productions. Winner of the 1997 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, its national reputation draws theatre artists from around the country to work on a variety of productions from September through July. The season consists of seven productions of the finest classic, contemporary and new plays. In December 2001, the company opened the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, housed next-door in the Nevo Education Center.

http://www.berkeleyrep.org/planyourvisit/index.asp
Berkeley Repertory Theatre is located at 2025 Addison Street, near the intersection of Addison and Shattuck Avenue in downtown Berkeley. There is a parking garage right across the street.
From San Francisco:
Take the Bay Bridge, get on I-80 East towards Berkeley/Sacramento. Take the University Avenue exit. Go east, towards the hills, 2 miles to Shattuck Avenue. Turn right on Shattuck, go one block to Addison Street and turn right again. The Theatre is halfway down the block on the right side.

Solano Ave. is one of the special streets lined with award winning restaurants, bookstores, coffee shops, clothing stores, taquerias, specialty stores, trees, benches, parks, movie theaters, and people. It simply is a wonderful place to spend time eating, drinking, shopping, and people watching. If you happen to be in town during September, be sure to check the annual “Solano Stroll,” a popular community parade and festival, which attracts thousands of people each year.

From I-80, exit Buchanan/Albany exit. From the exit, make a right turn onto Buchanan street. Make a Left turn on San Pablo, drive a few blocks and then make a right turn onto Solano Ave. This will be the bottom of the strip and the strip is a mile long.

The Adventure Playground at the Berkeley Marina was opened in 1979. It is a wonderfully unique outdoor facility where staff encourage children to play and build creatively. Kids climb on the many strange, kid designed built forts, boats, and towers. Ride a zip line or use tools like a hammer, saw, and paint (under supervision). By providing low risk activities Adventure Playground creates opportunities for children to learn cooperation, meet physical challenges and gain self confidence. I used to play here as a kid and I’ve always remembered how fun and different this place was, this was probably the first time I used a hammer to really try and build something.
Currently, about 1,000 adventure playgrounds exist in Europe, largely in Denmark, Switzerland, France, Germany, The Netherlands, and in England. In Germany alone there are some 400 adventure playgrounds. Japan has a significant number of adventure playgrounds as well.
In the U.S. there are currently two adventure playgrounds, in Berkeley, California and in Huntington Beach, California. The Adventure Playground in Berkeley celebrated its 25th birthday in 2004. The adventure playground in Huntington Beach was one of the first adventure playgrounds in the U.S. and has been around since the 1970s. Up until this year there were three adventure playgrounds in Houston, Texas as well as a Houston Adventure Play Association. They closed due to a loss of funding. Many of the adventure playgrounds that existed in the U.S. closed for similar reasons, either loss of funding or loss of the lease on the land.
FREE for 4 or less children accompanied by adults.

Take Interstate 80 and get off at the University Avenue exit in Berkeley. take a left onto University toward the Bay when you come to an intersection come to the stop and veer to the left. Continue down University, the road will straighten out and you will see a wide open parking lot on the left- At the West end of this lot is the Adventure Playground. Parking is here. The Nature Center is the next lot, down University with parking on the right. Cross the street to the Nature Center. If you go too far you will come to the Berkeley pier.

more info: http://adventureplaygrounds.hampshire.edu/

Berkeley’s very own traditional ice-skating rink which has been around for over fifty years. Iceland offers skate rentals, figure skating lessons, hockey games and year-round ice-skating fun for literally anyone willing. On Friday nights enjoy romantic couples skating with dimmed lights, music, and a disco ball. Olympian skaters Brian Boitano and Kristi Yamaguchi used to frequent Berkley Iceland.

http://www.norcalyouthhockey.com/RinkMaps/BerkeleyMap.html
From the Bay Bridge, take 80 East to Ashby Ave. exit. Take Ashby to Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Turn left on MLK (past San Pablo Ave. and Sacramento St.). Turn right on Ward. Rink is on the far left on Milvia at Ward.
From the South, take 880 North to 980. Stay in the middle lane and follow onto 24 East (left three lanes). Take the first right hand exit (Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.) off 24. Once you exit, stay to the left and follow signs for MLK. Take MLK to Ward (past Alcatraz and Ashby). Turn right on Ward. Rink is on the far left on Milvia at Ward.

all my ice skating memories come from here, this place is old-school and awesome because of it.

This four block strip is the yuppie area of Berkeley. Be sure to have some coffee and tea time at famous Pete’s Coffee. Also check out The Nature Company, Hear Music, Sweet Potatoes, Bette’s Oceanview Diner, C P Shades, custom furniture shops and more.

Go west on University Ave., away from the Cal campus and make a right turn on 4th street.

-Eat some lunch, grab a dessert and window shop. Prepare to spend a couple hours here at most, then drive over to the Berkeley Marina.
-Walking to the Berkeley Marina from 4th street is about a mile long, if you choose to walk be careful around the freeway overpass.

One of the District’s three oldest parks, Tilden has been called the jewel of the system, and its recreational activities have become a happy tradition for generations of East Bay youngsters. Highlights inlcude a carousel ride, picnic area, swim at Lake Anza, Little Farm, Pony Ride, group camping, golf course, Steam Train ride,merry-go-round, Botanical Garden and more. Tilden has variety to delight everyone.

Take Spruce Street north until you cross Grizzly Peak Blvd. The entrance to Tilden Park is at the intersection of Spruce Street and Grizzly Peak Blvd.

-There are fantastic hiking trails available for all skill levels. The Tilden Park Golf Course is a short drive away.

This course has many hills and trills that can cause uneven lies and affect your shots. Besides the terrain, unique to this golf course is a stream that comes into play on a couple holes, especially #16, a 206-yard, par 3, which relies on a tee shot over the stream. The Bay Regional Golf Tournament is held on this course every year. There is a separate green fee rate for Friday’s.

Take Spruce Street towards Tilden Park, until you hit Grizzly Peak. Located at Grizzly Peak Blvd. and Shasta Rd

-Great driving range and putting area for those who just want to get in a little practice. Golf balls can be purchased from the vending machines at the driving range.

Thousand’s of visitors every month flock to this historical steam train run by Redwood Valley Railway since 1952. The train will whistle with steam as it guides itself along the narrow railway winding through the Berkeley Hills. The ride itself is 12 minutes long and leaves every 20 minutes or so. Admission: $1.75 ($7.00 for 5 rides), dogs on leashes are free.

Take Spruce Street north until you cross Grizzly Peak Blvd. The entrance to Tilden Park at the intersection.

Little Farm is a lovely piece of Tilden Park where goats, chickens, turkeys, cows, and sheep munch happily on the lettuce and celery kids and curious adults provide. It’s not a petting zoo per se because you aren’t in the same enclosure with animals for full contact, but the creatures are tame and love people because they know we provide food. Children do get up close with the animals and can definitely pet them as they are fed. The farm has several small fenced pastures where cows, goats, and sheep graze, as well as a little barn where baby animals live. If you go in the spring, you are guaranteed to see babies, though there always seem to be chicks and ducklings. The animals have plenty of hay and grass to chew, but you’re allowed to bring lettuce and celery (no other vegetables, though!) for them. They love it! The chickens and ducks, too, will indulge in some fresh greens. The Little Farm is a fun place even if you’re not a kid. If you do bring kids, make sure that they know what’s proper behavior around animals; I’ve seen some kids get overexcited and get out of control around the animals.

The Botanical Gardens is where you will find hundreds of local and exotic flowers and plants. These include cactuses from the Mojave Desert, flowers from the coastal bluffs, pines from the Channel Islands and Oaks from the Oregon boarder. The botanical gardens is also a great bird watching location because of the various scents from the flowers and plants. There’s a plant sale every April and group and individual tours are offered. The Garden is a sanctuary of tranquility away from the stresses of the city and offers a wonderful activity even if you are not an avid botanist. Fees: No Charge

Come take a ride on a historic old-fashioned carousel and return to the days of classic carnivals. This beautiful antique merry-go-round was manufactured in 1911 by the Herschell-Spillman Company and it’s one of the few left in the US. It has hand-carved horses and other animals to ride on and nostalgic carnival style music cranking out of a huge organ. So grab some caramel corn, pick an animal and hop on for a centrifugal adventure. Admission: $1 per ride, $10 for 13 rides.

Yet another unique, fun, Berkeley experience for kids at Tilden Park.
The Pony Ride is CLOSED until further notice.

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

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.

I have been coming here for years and there is no doubt spectacular and awe-inspiring views here. Walk, rollerblade, bike or skip for 4 miles, very popular place for a great paved path. The most notable part of the walk is in the Peace Grove on the way up. Many years ago my cousin and I rollerbladed to the very end of the path, we had no idea when or if it would end, but sure enough after 4 miles, the road ended. Of course we were both exhausted, but thrilled to have completed the journey… the problem was we still had another 4 miles to get back to the parking lot!! Great times… No Admission.

Once you are in the park, take Shasta Road to where it joins with Wildcat Canyon Road near the Brazil Building. Continue on Wildcat Canyon Road until you come to the Inspiration Point parking lot on the left side of the road. You’ll pass the Botanical Garden along the way.