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June 2025 SCOTT NEWHALL: LEGENDARY EDITOR AND ADVENTURER On the easternmost edge of Berkeley, close to the border with Tilden Park, wanderers will find Scott Newhall Path following the contour of Hill
SCOTT NEWHALL: LEGENDARY EDITOR AND ADVENTURER
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On the easternmost edge of Berkeley, close to the border with Tilden Park, wanderers will find Scott Newhall Path following the contour of Hill Road. To younger walkers, this name will probably mean nothing. But to anyone who was living in the Bay Area in the ‘60s and ‘70s, it will ring a deeply familiar bell. Read More
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At the May 15 meeting of BPWA’s board, we celebrated our own communications coordinator, Eileen Chen, who was about to graduate from UC Berkeley with a master of city planning degree. Congratulations, Eileen, on this mammoth achievement!
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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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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: 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 and 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! Read More |
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When: Friday June 13 from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Leader: Alina Constantinescu
Start/end: Redwood trees at NE Corner of Mandana Blvd and Lakeshore Blvd. in Oakland Distance/elevation gain: 4 miles, 700 ft.
Accessibility: Many stairs and some uneven trails. Well-behaved dogs on leash are welcome, but will need to sit out the walk through the Rose Garden. This month's installment of the Friday sunset hikes takes us farther afield to Oakland and the beautiful Grand Lake and Lakeshore neighborhoods. Oakland has about 230 urban paths and staircases and this four-mile hike will cover 14 of them. We'll also visit the Morcom Rose Garden, a gem that rivals Berkeley's Rose Garden which we visited on last month's hike. Read More |
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When: Saturday, June 14 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Leader: Aaron Goldstein
Start: Corner of California and Fairview streets, Berkeley (near Ashby BART Station)
End: Near 63rd Street and College Avenue, Oakland (near Rockridge BART Station)
Distance/elevation gain: 2.5 miles, flat.
Accessibility: Well-behaved dogs on leash are welcome. This walk traces the history of a largely forgotten piece of the circa-1900 East Bay urban landscape, the tank house. From the 1860s through the 1920s, windmill-topped water towers stood on nearly every city block. Only a handful remain of the hundreds of tank houses that once existed in Berkeley. We'll visit five surviving examples in South Berkeley and North Oakland. Read More |
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When: Friday, June 20 from 6:00 to 8:15 p.m.
Leader: Lynn Deregowski
Start/End: Shorebird Park Nature Center, 160 University Ave, Berkeley
Distance/elevation gain: 3.5 miles, flat
Accessibility: Mostly flat and paved, with a few dirt paths and inclines. Well-behaved, leashed dogs welcome. Celebrate the summer solstice with a golden-hour walk through one of Berkeley’s most scenic areas! On the longest day of the year, we’ll enjoy bay breezes, sailboats in the marina, and panoramic views of the Golden Gate and San Francisco skyline—ending with a sunset over the water. Bring layers and your camera, as there should be beauty in every direction. Read More |
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When: Saturday June 21 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Leader: Bob Johnson
Start/end: Plaza in front of the main exit from the Rockridge BART station near the northeast corner of College Avenue and Keith Avenue
Distance/elevation gain: 2.7 miles or so, 400 feet
Accessibility: Moderate fitness, not appropriate for wheelchairs due to steps and some steep sections. No restrooms. Well behaved dogs on leash are welcome. This area was largely developed in the early 20th century and features a variety of Craftsman homes and the College Avenue commercial district. Up the hill, we’ll see some large homes from before and after the disastrous 1991 fire, as well as views and some interesting public stairways. All the paths are paved but there are some steep sections. Read More |
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When: Sunday, June 29 from 10 to 11:45 a.m.
Leader: Margaret Kilby
Start/end: Live Oak Park, 1301 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley
Distance/elevation gain: 4 miles, 1,000 feet
Accessibility: A moderate level of fitness is necessary for some of the steeper sections. There are no restrooms. Well-behaved, leashed dogs are welcome. 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. Bring extra layers, hiking poles, and water. Read More |
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PATH MAINTENANCE WORK PARTIES
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Join us for a path maintenance work party!Sunday, June 1, 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, June 11, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 27, 10 a.m. to noon 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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