Take a Walk on the Wild Side

Hidden paths in the Berkeley hills offer a stunning mix of nature, architecture, history, and scenic beauty.

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The best walks inspire a sense of adventure, even surprise. You discover a forgotten garden, a towering boulder, or, as Raymond Carver wrote in one of his poems, “a new path to the waterfall.” The footpaths that crisscross the North Berkeley hills offer odysseys for urban explorers.

In the early 20th century, as the University of California expanded and a rail line connected San Francisco to the East Bay, developers began building new neighborhoods in the Berkeley hills. The streetscape hugged the natural curves of the hills, and the footpaths were built as shortcuts through the winding streets to the electric train line, creating a true walking neighborhood centered around public transportation.

The four walks explored here take you on these footpaths, allowing you to enjoy the charm, simplicity, and wildness of these hills.➻

The houses in the upper reaches of the hills around Cragmont Rock Park, many the former vacation homes of wealthy San Franciscans, evoke the bubbly, almost naive, hues of a forgotten Golden Age.

Begin at Easter Way, on Spruce Street just north of Santa Barbara Road. Ascend the steps to Cragmont Avenue, make a right, then find where the Easter Way steps continue, to the right of 971.

The path opens to a steep lawn, the mouth of Cragmont Rock Park. At the top of the lawn, a dirt trail to the right leads to a tiled seat looking out on the north end of the Bay, with Mount Tamalpais in the distance.

Continue to the upper tier of Cragmont Rock Park, a wistful perch when it’s foggy and glorious when the sun comes out, with views to the south and west. Hand-placed stonework abounds on the little walls, the whimsical steps leading nowhere. On a clear day, the view stretches to the Golden Gate Bridge.

To resume the walk, turn right on Regal Road to find Pinnacle Path on the left, next to 979.

Climb the stairs to Poppy Lane, where you turn right and enter Remillard Park, the gift of Lillian Remillard Dandini di Cesana, a brick heiress who reportedly once tutored Jack London. Here, you find the magnificent Pinnacle Rock, a craggy boulder of climbing renown.

To exit the park, go through the playground, ascend a few wooden steps, then follow the chip-covered trail to the right and take the woodsy path lined with blackberry and bay laurel. The trail connects two sections of Keeler Avenue, named for Charles Keeler, author of The Simple Home.

Bear right on Keeler to Sterling Path, where you descend back to Cragmont Avenue.

Go left on Cragmont, then right on Bret Harte Road, down to Keith Avenue. Both arteries recall artistic luminaries of the region: Harte, a writer of the West; William Keith, a watercolor landscape artist and friend of John Muir. Look for Bret Harte Way to the left of 1100 Keith, a pretty path lined with bamboo and splashes of bougainvillea.

Take the steps down to Euclid. Turn right, continue past Keith, and make a left on Cragmont, which you follow back to Santa Barbara Road, and, to the left, Easter Way.