May 2026

Hilgard Path is closed for major construction (shown above) until May 30.

Upper Stevenson Path is undergoing an upgrade: The gates formerly separating sections have been removed and a handrail will be installed this month.

North Berkeley Loop: 40 Paths in 10 Miles

When: Sunday, May 3, 2026 8:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Where: Shattuck Ave and Berryman Berkeley, CA
Leader: John Ford
Distance:10 miles
Elevation gain: 2,100 feet
Accessibility: This walk is strenuous, and includes numerous staircases not accessible for wheelchairs. Well- behaved dogs on leashes are welcome. There are restrooms at the community center at the start, and we will pass another public restroom about a mile into the walk.

We will take various paths up to the ridge line then continue north, zigzagging to pick up more paths, and work our way to near the Kensington border and back. We will aim to maintain a brisk pace and finish in four hours. Read more

Upper Upper Rockridge Exploration Part 1

When: Tuesday, May 12, 2026 8:45 AM - 11:45 AM
Where: 6502 Broadway Terrace, Oakland, CA 94618
Leader: Sharon Taylor
Meeting Location Details: We will meet at the end of the parking lot at South entrance to Lake Temescal Regional Park. This is the entrance on Broadway Terrace, not the North entrance on Broadway. Limited parking is available in the lot (may be a $5 fee April-October); street parking on Broadway Terrace. For street parking, allow time to walk down the dirt path or the driveway to the parking lot meeting spot.
Distance: 3.25 miles
Elevation gain: 550 feet
Accessibility: 781 stairs and some very steep parts (up AND down) with no handrails, some poorly maintained streets and stairs, and one dirt path with no handrails (could be muddy depending on weather). Strenuous! Bring water. Bathrooms available at Lake Temescal start/end. No dogs.

Explore Upper Rockridge on this strenuous and fast-paced walk featuring “secret” stairs, murals, and an architectural mix of pre- and post- 1991 Oakland Firestorm homes. There are a couple of out-and-backs, but mostly we will loop up and down, getting our heart rates up while we see some interesting homes, art, and nice views. Read more

Upper Upper Rockridge Exploration Part 2

When: Sunday, May 17, 2026 8:45 AM - 11:45 AM
Where: 6502 Broadway Terrace Oakland, CA
Leader: Sharon Taylor
Meeting Location Details: We will meet at the end of the parking lot at SOUTH entrance to Lake Temescal Regional Park. Note: this is the entrance on Broadway Terrace, NOT the North entrance on Broadway.   Limited parking is available in the lot (may be a $5 fee April-October); street parking on Broadway Terrace. For street parking, allow time to walk down the dirt path or the driveway to the parking lot meeting spot.
Distance: 4.4 miles
Elevation gain: 720 feet
Accessibility: 189  stairs and some very steep parts (up AND down) with no handrails, some poorly maintained streets and stairs, and SEVERAL dirt paths with no handrails (could be muddy depending on weather). Strenuous! Bring water. Bathrooms available at Lake Temescal start/end. No dogs.

Explore Upper Upper Rockridge on this strenuous and fast-paced walk featuring “secret” stairs, murals, and an architectural mix of pre- and post- 1991 Oakland Firestorm homes. Read more

Upper Upper Rockridge Exploration Part 2

When: Tuesday, May 19, 2026 8:45 AM - 11:45 AM
Where: 6502 Broadway Terrace Oakland, CA
Leader: Sharon Taylor
Meeting Location Details: We will meet at the end of the parking lot at SOUTH entrance to Lake Temescal Regional Park. Note: this is the entrance on Broadway Terrace, NOT the North entrance on Broadway.   Limited parking is available in the lot (may be a $5 fee April-October); street parking on Broadway Terrace. For street parking, allow time to walk down the dirt path or the driveway to the parking lot meeting spot.
Distance: 4.4 miles
Elevation gain: 720 feet
Accessibility: 189  stairs and some very steep parts (up AND down) with no handrails, some poorly maintained streets and stairs, and SEVERAL dirt paths with no handrails (could be muddy depending on weather). Strenuous! Bring water. Bathrooms available at Lake Temescal start/end. No dogs.

Explore Upper Upper Rockridge on this strenuous and fast-paced walk featuring “secret” stairs, murals, and an architectural mix of pre- and post- 1991 Oakland Firestorm homes. Read more

Evening Hike in Berkeley's Rocking Thousand Oaks Neighborhood

When: Friday, May 29 2026, 6:00PM - 8:30PM
Where: 899 The Alameda, Berkeley, CA
Leader: Alina Constantinescu
Distance: 4 miles
Elevation gain: 600 feet
Accessibility: Many stairs and some uneven trails. Well-behaved dogs on leash are welcome.

This month's installment of Friday sunset hikes takes us back to Berkeley to explore its fun Thousand Oaks neighborhood, which should really be re-named to Thousand Boulders. We will check out famous rock parks like Indian Rock, but also discover a myriad of other boulders that are playing peek-a-boo all over this neighborhood: along paths, sidewalks, backyards, and (from the pages of an illustrated book) home basements, bathrooms, and garages.  Read more

Berkeley in the '60s

When: Saturday, May 30, 2026 10:00 AM -12:00 PM
Where: Sproul Hall Berkeley, CA
Leader: Rodney Paul
Distance: 1.0 mile
Elevation gain: 20 feet
Accessibility: Fully paved with curb cuts; move at a moderate pace; well-behaved dogs welcome; restrooms at start and end in Student Union.
Signup: RSVP.

The Berkeley Free Speech Movement was one of the first major protests of the 1960s, a decade that would come to be defined by student unrest around the world.  We’ll visit key locations from the FSM and other 1960s protests and discuss Berkeley institutions that played important supporting roles. Read more

North of Campus Hike

When: Saturday June 6, 2026 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Where: 2301 Vine St., Berkeley
Leader: Gene Meyers
Distance: 3 miles
Elevation Gain: About 300 feet.
Accessibility: Moderately paced.  Sidewalks, several paths, some steep uphill roads. Not accessible for wheelchairs. Well-behaved dogs on leashes are welcome.  Restrooms are unavailable.

We will meet in front of the Dominican School and head to Scenic and Vine for this walk visiting several North of Campus paths.  We begin on the steepest part of the walk, crossing Euclid and going to the top of Rose Street.  The rest of the walk is more moderate with several up and down paths.  There is usually plenty of on-street parking near the start of the walk.  For a complete description of the walk with images see North of Campus Hike. Read more

Join us for a path maintenance work party!

Thursday, May 14, 10 a.m. to 12:00 pm
Wednesday, May 27, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 pm

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. To receive an email confirming the meeting place, please RSVP to the path maintenance team at path.maintenance@berkeleypaths.org.

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 you are interested, please contact the BPWA Walks Coordinator 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.