When, in 2008, Betty Olds retired from serving District 6 on the Berkeley City Council after 16 years, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that the council “will lose its crankiest, wittiest, and often most rational member.” Six years later, the path that connects Sterling and Whitaker avenues in North Berkeley (previously known as Twain Path, #68 on the BPWA map) was renamed the Betty Olds Path in her honor. The children’s room at the North Branch of the Berkeley Public Library also bears her name.
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.
Like Berkeley, the Kensington community just to the 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 paths are not officially publicly owned.
Berkeley’s paths and stairways take walkers along some of the city’s prettiest neighborhoods and streets. But there’s one that might well surpass all the others in terms of history and architectural interest: If you’re looking for a path to share with visitors to demonstrate the richness of Berkeley’s culture, look no further than Rose Walk.
Indian Rock is one of many volcanic rhyolite rock outcroppings found across the Bay Area that are estimated to have occurred between nine and eleven million years ago. Anyone who has climbed the steep steps in its face has also seen the depressions of mortar holes still evident here, especially in the aptly named Mortar Rock, where the Ohlone people used the bedrock as a grinding surface for food and medicine.
Twenty-two proud walkers completed our Every Path in Berkeley walk series and earned their “I Walked Every Path in Berkeley in 2023” pins. The 6-walk series covered 130 paths and 36 miles! The pins were awarded on August 6 at Live Oak Park, the finish line of the final walk, when the community met to celebrate the organization’s 25th anniversary.
In recognition of 25 years of mapping, constructing, and maintaining the public stairs and pathways, the Berkeley City Council issued a proclamation recognizing the Berkeley Path Wanderers Association’s community volunteer effort.
Under the leadership of Jeff Anderson, the Jeronimus Alley mural is now complete. “Three protective clear coats were applied, and the mural looks much brighter and fresher now,” says board member Tamara Gurin, who spearheaded the mural project for Berkeley Path Wanderers Association.
We are proud to share that — with your donations — Berkeley Path Wanderers Association has purchased and installed new handrails for Acacia and Atlas paths! Atlas Path connects Hill Road and Grizzly Peak Boulevard, and Acacia Steps (pictured above) connects Cragmont Avenue and Spruce Street. Both are steep paths that benefit greatly from handrails.
“Pat was fundamental in shaping the early bylaws, including aspects like keeping the dues intentionally low to encourage membership, having term limits for board members to keep the leadership fresh, and a commitment to recruiting new volunteers,” said Jacque Ensign, one of four women co-founders of the the organization. “The result has kept the organization moving, always trying new things, and staying relevant in the community.”
A new colorful mural greets visitors to Jeronimus Alley, a walkway at 5 1/2 Street in West Berkeley between Cedar and Camelia streets.
