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May 2025 11TH ANNUAL EL CERRITO HILLSIDE FESTIVAL Path Wanderers, mark your calendars for May 3 and 4! From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., the El Cerrito Trail Trekkers, one of our friend organizations, will host
11TH ANNUAL EL CERRITO HILLSIDE FESTIVAL
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Path Wanderers, mark your calendars for May 3 and 4! From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., the El Cerrito Trail Trekkers, one of our friend organizations, will host its 11th-annual El Cerrito Hillside Festival in the Hillside Natural Area—family-friendly, free, and open to the public. There will be something for everyone, including bird walks, insect hikes, a scavenger hunt, an edible and medicinal plant walk, learning about El Cerrito history, and more. People of all ages can learn how to use apps to identify flora and fauna or enter a haiku contest and hear the winners recite their poetry on a “haiku hike.” See the full schedule at https://www.ectrailtrekkers.org/hillside-festival.html.
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GOOD NEWS FOR KENSINGTON’S PATHS
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Like Berkeley, the Kensington community just to our north has a set of walking paths, created when the area was subdivided in 1910. But while Berkeley’s paths are owned by the city, due to an historic anomaly, Kensington’s are not officially publicly owned. The original purpose of the paths was to make it easier to get to streetcar stops for rail transportation of the Key System. When the trains were replaced by buses, the paths continued to be used for travel on foot to the business districts on Arlington Avenue and at Colusa Circle. They’re still enjoyed by many as a safe and charming way to get around on foot. Read More
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Building handrails for Berkeley’s paths is one of the most valuable services BPWA provides to the community. We now have an open position on our board for a Handrail Planner for a two-year term. If you have experience in construction, contracting, architecture, and/or project management, we’d love to talk to you! This volunteer position involves: Reviewing the path condition report and proposing locations for new handrails Soliciting bids and coordinating the installation of handrails Working closely with our Path-Building Liaison
To express your interest in this position, please email us at the following address: path.building@berkeleypaths.org.
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LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD PATH-BUILDERS
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Our awesome path-building team is looking for a few more members! The team currently meets twice weekly on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 to 11 a.m., but some weekends may be scheduled for those who work midweek. If you love to work with your hands, spend time outdoors, and collaborate with an outstanding crew of interesting people, email us at path.building@berkeleypaths.org. We’ll give you all the training you need.
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PATH UPDATESHilgard Path is currently closed, with a retaining wall above the path requiring reconstruction. Please observe the “closed” signs and don’t bypass the barricade—it’s a real safety issue!
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Note: Heavy rain cancels. If rain is in the forecast, check the www.berkeleypaths.org website the day before to see if the walk is cancelled.
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When: Saturday, May 3 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Leader: Margaret Kilby Start/end: Live Oak Park, Berkeley (corner of Shattuck and Berryman) Distance/elevation gain: 4 miles, 1,000 feet Accessibility: A moderate level of fitness is necessary for some of the steeper sections; no dirt trails, some steep stairs and streets. Well-behaved dogs are welcome. There are no restrooms. Think of this hike as one long UP and one long DOWN! This moderate hike takes us via many stairs, walkways, and paths up to Grizzly Peak Blvd. Then, we go even a little higher before our descent. On a clear day, we will see some nice views of San Francisco. Read More |
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When: Friday, May 9 from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. Leader: Alina Constantinescu Start/end: Bottom of Indian Path, NE corner of Solano Ave and The Alameda, Berkeley Distance/elevation gain: 4 miles, 400 feet Accessibility: Many stairs and some uneven trails. Well-behaved dogs on leash are welcome, but they will need to sit out the walk through the Rose Garden. For May's installment of the Friday sunset hikes, we'll explore the paths and streets south of the Marin Circle and then make our way uphill toward Berkeley's marvelous Rose Garden. May is a wonderful time to experience this special place! The route is about 4 miles with 16 staircases and steep sidewalks. We'll go at a moderate pace to enjoy the views and the conversations. Read More |
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When: Saturday, May 10 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Leader: Janet Byron Start/end: El Cerrito Plaza BART station, corner of Central Avenue and Ohlone Greenway Distance/elevation gain: 4.5 miles, 680 feet From the El Cerrito Plaza BART station, we’ll walk up to Arlington Park via as many hidden stairways as possible, then return via more paths and the PG&E property along Moeser Avenue. Along the way, we'll visit El Cerrito's Centennial Park, Huber Park, and Cerrito Vista Park; get some spectacular views; and see one very very quirky home. Expect lots of uphill streets and stairs on this butt-kicker of a walk (then lots of downhill!). Read More |
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When: Sunday, June 8 from 8:45 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Leader: Alina Constantinescu, Jen English, John Ford Start: Lake Merritt BART station, NW corner of 8th St. and Oak St. End: Downtown Berkeley BART station Distance/elevation gain: Approximately 17 miles, 2,200 feet Accessibility: Stairs and trails, some steep. No dogs allowed due to the duration of hike and BART’s no-dogs policy. This year's long walk takes us to three lakes—Lake Merritt, Lake Temescal, and Lake Anza—via Oakland’s and Berkeley’s paths, trails, and parks. Grab your Clipper Card and join us for an East Bay fun day! From our starting point at Lake Merritt BART, we will walk along the lake shoreline through the beautiful Grand Lake neighborhood, onto the Oakland Rose Garden, Piedmont Avenue, Upper Rockridge, and finally beautiful Temescal Lake. After another shoreline walk, we'll head into Berkeley's Claremont neighborhood and make our way to a BYO lunch stop at the UC Berkeley International House. After lunch, we’ll head up into Berkeley's Panoramic Hill neighborhood and onto the fire trails that will connect us to Tilden Park and to our third and final lake of the day: Lake Anza. The last stretch is a mostly downhill jaunt toward downtown Berkeley BART via Berkeley’s paths and winding streets. Read More |
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PATH MAINTENANCE WORK PARTIES
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Join us for a path maintenance work party!Tuesday, May 13, 10 a.m. to noon Sunday, May 18, 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, May 28, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Do you enjoy working with your hands and seeing tangible results of your efforts? Join us to clean up Berkeley’s paths, work that’s mostly weeding, sweeping, raking, and clipping. We will have gloves and tools available, but feel free to bring your own. Please also bring your own water, as we won't be offering water or refreshments. Please RSVP to receive an email confirming the meeting place by writing to our path maintenance team at path.maintenance@berkeleypaths.org. |
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Berkeley Path Wanderers Association
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Berkeley Path Wanderers Association is a community organization of people who treasure the public pathways that crisscross our city. Learn More
The BPWA board generally meets monthly. Please contact info@berkeleypaths.org for more information. We always welcome new volunteers to lead walks on Berkeley’s paths. If interested, please contact Walks Coordinator Tamara Gurin or Jen English at walks@berkeleypaths.org. To support Berkeley's paths, you can donate online. All donations are tax-deductible and go toward building new paths, repairing and clearing existing paths, purchasing handrails, and advocating for paths and walkers. |
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