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Terrace Walk (Path #2)

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Meet the Paths: Terrace Walk.................................by Dale Miller
From the Newsletter of the Berkeley Path Wanderers Association
Spring 2006 Vol. 9 No. 1

As you stand at the lower end of Terrace Walk in a peaceful circle of pittosporum shrubs and raised ivy beds, you are at a point of geographic and aesthetic transition. Behind you to the West is one of North Berkeley’s busier intersections, where Hopkins ends at Sutter. In front of you, a few steps lead onto a peaceful, well-maintained path that is one of the best gateways to the serene North Berkeley Hills.

As you begin your walk, note there are no wires cluttering the view overhead. All nearby wires were placed under ground about six years ago. You’ll see six terraced lots on this steep lower section, with a traditional brown shingle house on the left and a beautiful cottage rose garden on the right. The path levels off to cross Mariposa, one of North Berkeley’s most unique streets. The avenue has an East Coast feel with two lines of large sycamores creating a canopy over the street, and the houses are set back from the sidewalk.

The second section of the path begins above Mariposa with redwood fences on either side. A gorgeous brugmansia tree in the backyard of No. 1047 shades the walk with its fragrant yellow trumpets. Two houses face the path, a Mediterranean and a red shingled farm house on a double lot. Rising from a spring flower show of daffodils, camellias, quince, and roses are two majestic redwoods as well as some cedars, an oak, and a small holly bush. A chain link fence has been mellowed by a clematis vine and ivy.
At the top of the path, Walnut ends at Shattuck – a spot that seems odd to residents of the Gourmet Ghetto, where these streets run parallel. At this point you may go left to Indian Rock, right to Live Oak Park, or you may take Walnut to the Short Cut.