Leaders: Alina Constantinescu, Jen English, John Ford
Distance: Approximately 17 miles
Elevation gain: 2200 feet
Accessibility: Stairs, trails, some steep. No dogs allowed due to the duration of hike and the no-dogs BART 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.

If you take BART from Downtown Berkeley, you can optionally meet the group on the Downtown Berkeley train platform for the 8:15 AM train (Orange, OAK Airport/Berryessa), arriving at Lake Merritt BART at 8:32 AM (or coming from elsewhere meet the group on the first car of that train).  If you wish to drive to the start, most parking in the area is free on Sundays, but please allow time for parking as the Lake Merritt station parking lot is currently closed (check BART website for updates).

Please note that this is a strenuous ~17 mile hike with ~2,200 elevation gain.  We will cover about 8.5 miles before lunch and about the same distance after lunch. Both stretches will have significant elevation gains. Bring layers, hat, sunscreen, water, snacks, and a lunch, and come prepared to be out for the whole day. There are restrooms and water refill opportunities at a few points along the way.