First, the obvious question: Why, in a place as politically correct as Berkeley, does the name of this iconic spot still use the culturally controversial term “Indian”? In any case, this stunning outlook is an important location for the Huichin tribe of the Ohlone people, who gathered here for thousands of years to socialize and celebrate.
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. Ceremonies were held and stories were shared here, and today the whole area remains historically significant to the Ohlone people; they consider their cultural connection to these rocks to be sacred.
In 1917, Duncan McDuffie—an environmentalist, Sierra Club president, mountaineer, and real estate mogul—donated 1.18 acres for Indian Rock Park, with several other nearby parcels, to the City of Berkeley as part of the new Northbrae neighborhood. Later, during the Great Depression, a set of stairs was carved into the rock as one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” projects.
At the same time, the rocky outcropping, composed of rhyolite stone, also became a popular practice site for rock-climbing, particularly a technique called bouldering. Avid climbers like Richard M. Leonard— the “father of modern rock climbing”—and environmentalist David Brower—founder of Friends of the Earth—developed new techniques that revolutionized the sport. Brower even used what he learned here to write World War II training manuals, knowledge that enabled the U.S. Army’s 86th Regiment to surprise the Germans at Riva Ridge in Italy’s North Apennines—a major factor in disrupting German lines in southern Europe. Today, climbers still refer to Indian Rock as the “spiritual home of the eliminate”; by removing key hand holds, they’re forced to think differently about their ascent routes.
Indian Rock Path is located just north of The Circle in North Berkeley, and runs directly east from Solano Avenue. On a clear day, grab a coffee or snack, walk the path and hike up the rock for a spectacular view of the entire San Francisco Bay.
You can learn more about all the paths and their surroundings in the book Berkeley Walks by Robert E. Johnson and Janet L. Byron, available on the BPWA website and at local bookstores.