A weekend in Berkeley and Oakland
Written September 2026
The East Bay is the answer to a San Francisco weekend that has run out of flat places. Berkeley has a hillside of regional park with a farm, a carousel and a steam train in it, and playgrounds that have been the default morning for generations of toddlers. Oakland has a lake with a storybook park on its shore, a hillside zoo and a working harbor.
This plan gives each city a day. Berkeley is the hills and the parks; Oakland is the lake, the zoo and the water. The two are 20 minutes apart by car, and BART links the downtowns, but the hills and the zoo are not on BART, so the plan drives.
It works with a stroller for most of it. The exceptions are said where they come.
At a glance
- Walking
- 1 to 3 miles a day, most of it on the flat by the lake and the harbor. Tilden and the zoo are hillside, and both work with a carrier.
- Ages
- From a stroller up. Day one has a slide for the big kids and a fenced corner for the toddlers, and a science museum on the hill; day two has a lake and the zoo.
- Season
- Year round. Summer mornings in the hills are cool and the harbor is windy; autumn is usually the clearest season for the views.
Getting around
A car is the easy answer: Tilden, Codornices Park and the zoo are each up a hill, and the plan visits all three. From San Francisco it is across the Bay Bridge, which is the part of the trip to time around traffic.
BART links downtown Berkeley with downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt if you would rather leave the car at the hotel for a stretch. The ferry to San Francisco leaves from Jack London Square, which is the nicest way home from day two.
Berkeley: the hills, the slide and dinner on Fourth Street
Start at the top and come down. Tilden Regional Park in the morning, with a farm and a carousel a few minutes apart, then downtown for lunch and Codornices Park for the afternoon, then the science museum on the hill for the view. Dinner is on Fourth Street on the way back to the hotel.
MorningGive it about an hourLittle Farm at Tilden Regional Park
Cows, goats and chickens at the end of a short walk from the car park on Canon Drive. Children can see and hear all of it up close, and the farm has one rule about food: bring celery or lettuce, and nothing else, because the animals are not to be fed anything but that.
Late morningGive it about 30 minutes · 0.8 mi from the last stopTilden Merry-Go-Round
A restored carousel with hand-carved animals. There is a snack stand, a restroom and parking right there, which makes it an easy stop rather than an expedition, and the smallest child will spend the whole ride deciding which animal.
A scaled-down steam train loops along the ridge nearby, and children who are still on the carousel in their heads will want it next. It runs on set days, so check the listing.
Also here: Redwood Valley Railway
LunchGive it about an hour and a half · 2.2 mi from the last stopJupiter
Wood-fired pizza on a big two-level garden patio that forgives kid volume, with downtown Berkeley bustle all around. The grown-ups get good beer and the children get room to be children.
AfternoonGive it about an hour and a half · 1.2 mi from the last stopCodornices Park
Home of the famous 40-foot concrete slide that big kids come down on cardboard, with a creek and a fenced area for toddlers, and the Berkeley Rose Garden through the pedestrian tunnel across Euclid. A Berkeley childhood rite of passage, and one that costs a piece of cardboard.
Also here: Berkeley Rose Garden Playground
Late afternoonGive it about an hour and a half · 0.9 mi from the last stopLawrence Hall of Science
Design Quest for building and testing things, an Animal Discovery Room, and one of the best views of the bay from the terrace. It is a museum for the child who wants to make something, and the terrace is the reward for the parent.
The museum is not open every day of the week, so check the listing before you drive up the hill.
- DinnerGive it about an hour and a half · 3.0 mi from the last stop
Tacubaya
A festive Fourth Street taqueria where the decor absorbs kid noise and the outdoor tables let the rest of it escape, with trains to watch on the tracks next door. It resets a day that has had a lot of hills in it.
Fourth Street is a short walk of shops after dinner if there is energy left, and the drive to Oakland is 20 minutes.
Oakland: the lake, the zoo and the harbor
Oakland is spread out, so today is three parts. The lake in the morning with the storybook park on its shore, lunch in Uptown, then the zoo up in the hills for the afternoon, and the harbor and the waterfront for the end of the day.
MorningGive it about two hoursChildren’s Fairyland
A storybook park on the edge of Lake Merritt, built at a child’s scale, for small children. Give it the morning, and let the youngest set the pace.
- Late morningGive it about 45 minutes · 0.4 mi from the last stop
Lake Merritt
A lake in the middle of the city with gardens children can touch and wander through. The path round it is flat, so it is the stroller walk of the weekend, and there is water to watch the whole way.
- LunchGive it about an hour and a half · 0.8 mi from the last stop
Drake’s Dealership
A converted auto dealership turned sprawling open-air beer garden in Uptown, with wood-fired pizza and communal tables and enough space that a loud child disappears into the ambient roar. Daytime and early evening are the family hours.
AfternoonGive it about two and a half hours · 7.9 mi from the last stopOakland Zoo
A hillside zoo where the gondola up to the California Trail is included with admission, and the ride itself is half the outing for a small child. It is the furthest stop from everything else, which is why it has the afternoon to itself.
General admission needs a booking, so check the listing before you drive out.
- Late afternoonGive it about an hour · 10 mi from the last stop
Middle Harbor Shoreline Park
Wide open paths for bikes and scooters, with the container cranes right there across the water. Children who like big machines will stand and watch, and the paths are the place to spend whatever is left of a scooter’s day.
- DinnerGive it about an hour and a half · 2.8 mi from the last stop
Jack London Square
Boats to watch, an arcade and a cinema, with outdoor patios for eating: a place where you can arrive without a plan. It is where the ferry to San Francisco leaves from, so it is also the easy way home.
The ferry to San Francisco leaves from the square, and BART is a short walk from downtown Oakland.
Where to stay
Oakland puts day two at the door and the zoo and the hills in easy reach; Berkeley puts the parks and the slide there. Two nights in one place is the calm answer, and the drive between the cities is 20 minutes either way.
Jack London Square is the easy base for a family arriving by ferry or BART. The Berkeley Marina and the hills are the quiet ones.
Waterfront Hotel, JdV by Hyatt
A nautically themed boutique on Jack London Square, with the ferry to San Francisco across the street and the boat-docking views that children like.
Cribs available · Suite with separate bedroom · Pool
Homewood Suites by Hilton Oakland-Waterfront
All suites, each with a full kitchen, on the waterfront: breakfast for early risers without a restaurant negotiation.
Cribs available · Suite with separate bedroom · Pool · Free breakfast
Oakland Marriott City Center
Downtown Oakland’s big full-service hotel, with direct BART access for a car-free stretch and suites that fit a travel crib without gymnastics.
Cribs available · Suite with separate bedroom · Pool
Claremont Resort & Club
The East Bay’s resort splurge, in the Berkeley Hills: several pools, tennis, a kids’ club and seasonal family programming. A staycation that feels like leaving the state.
Cribs available · Suite with separate bedroom · Pool
DoubleTree by Hilton Berkeley Marina
On the Marina, with the kite-flying lawns and the Bay Trail at the door, and the only Berkeley hotel with an indoor pool, so swimming does not depend on the fog.
Cribs available · Pool
Courtyard by Marriott Oakland Airport
The practical overnight for an early flight, with sound-insulated rooms near the runways and a shuttle. Near the zoo end of the East Bay.
Cribs available · Pool
If it rains
Lawrence Hall of Science moves to the morning and stays the anchor of the day. In Oakland, Chabot Space & Science Center has planetarium shows and hands-on exhibits up in the hills, Bay Play in West Oakland is an indoor playground with climbing walls and a ninja course, and the Junior Center of Art & Science has art spaces, a library, a play space and animals in one building. In Berkeley, the children’s section of the central library is the default when the weather turns.
With a toddler
Berkeley is generous to toddlers. Virginia-McGee Totland and Becky Temko Tot Park are both fully fenced and built for them, and Codornices has its own fenced toddler area beside the big slide. In Oakland, keep to Fairyland and the lake path, and give the zoo an hour rather than the afternoon.
With big kids
Adventure Playground on the Berkeley Marina is a staff-supervised junkyard where children get real hammers and saws and build forts from scrap lumber. Add Indian Rock, which children can climb and scramble on, and the Cal campus, good for scooters on the paths and wading in the creek. The Oakland Zoo can have the whole day.
What to skip
The Tilden hills and the Oakland Zoo on the same day: they sit at opposite ends of the East Bay, which is why they have a day each. And crossing the bridge at rush hour with a hungry child. Time the drive from San Francisco for the middle of the day, or come by ferry.
Questions
Is Berkeley or Oakland better for kids?
They suit different children. Berkeley has the hills, the regional park with a farm and a carousel, and toddler playgrounds that are fully fenced. Oakland has a lake with a storybook park, a hillside zoo and the harbor. This plan gives each a day.
How do you get from San Francisco to Berkeley and Oakland with kids?
By car across the Bay Bridge, or by BART from the city to downtown Oakland or Berkeley, or by ferry from San Francisco to Jack London Square in Oakland. The hills and the zoo are not on BART, so a car makes this weekend easy.
What is there to do in Berkeley with kids?
A farm and a carousel at Tilden Regional Park, a 40-foot concrete slide at Codornices Park, a science museum in the hills with a view of the bay, and playgrounds including two that are fully fenced for toddlers.
What is there to do in Oakland with kids?
A storybook park and a path round Lake Merritt, the Oakland Zoo with its gondola, the harbor and Jack London Square, and Chabot Space & Science Center for a wet day.
Where should a family stay in the East Bay?
On Jack London Square for the ferry and the waterfront, downtown Oakland for BART, or in the Berkeley Hills or on the Berkeley Marina for the parks. Six places set up for families are under Where to stay.
Photos
Lake Merritt: Darin Marshall from Oakland, United States (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Little Farm at Tilden Regional Park: Harmonywriter (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Tilden Merry-Go-Round: Mliu92 (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Jupiter: Joe Parks from Berkeley, CA (CC BY 2.0) · Codornices Park: Skier Dude (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Lawrence Hall of Science: Tbo47 (CC0) · Children's Fairyland: E mln e (CC BY 4.0) · Oakland Zoo: D Coetzee from San Mateo, CA, USA (CC0) · Oakland Marriott City Center: Mx. Granger (CC0)
3 days in San Francisco