Inspiration Point — Attraction in Berkeley

This is one of the parking lots at Tilden regional park near Oakland California. It is right beside the CA 24 freeway in a small town named Ocinda. We started our hike from the Inspiration point parking lot. We took the paved path along the Nimitz way and along the way we saw Mt Diablo clearly at a distance. It was a clear sky with no clouds. As we proceeded along the Nimitz way, we encountered a groove of Eucalyptus trees. Its fragrance was really pleasant and filled the air. We also saw lots of groves of redwood trees sponsored and maintained by various clouds around Berkeley like the Rotary club, Berkeley hiking club etc. It was a happy feeling to see people contributing actively for the development and maintenance of the natural beauty in such parks. We took a diversion along the Peace grove and hiked downhill all the way to the Visitor center which is also an educational center. The visitor center has parking facilities and very clean restrooms. From the visitor center, we proceeded along the Loop road and then took the Meadow canyon trail back to Inspiration point parking lot making the hike a total distance of 6 miles. The hike was easy to moderate in terms of difficulty level and it has ample amounts of shade to protect from the heat of the sun. I will recommend you to reach early since the parking lot gets filled pretty quickly and once full you will have to wait a significant amount of time to get a free spot. There are lots more trails to explore in this place. The best times to visit this is during the early spring just after the rains, when the mountain slopes will be lush green in grass and it’s a beautiful sight. Its also a beautiful sight early in the morning to see the fog suspended under the mountains and you can also see the Tindell effect in the Eucalyptus groves when the sun pierces through this...

A super accessible hiking trail. With a good sized parking lot and bathrooms at the trailhead, it’s dog friendly (on leash) and the paved path works well for strollers, so it’s a favorite for families. Plus the trail is wide enough a group can walk and chat together. Mountain bikers and trail runners can take advantage of the unpaved dirt to the side of the main trail. Not flat - there are definitely some larger hills - but beautiful views all the way to Golden Gate Bridge.

Pros: amazing views; can walk forever; bathroom at the start; family/kid friendly (paved paths are easy for bikes and strollers); dog friendly

Cons: parking gets busy, especially mid-day on weekends; basically just an out and back; while dog friendly, not off-leash friendly; paved path isn’t ideal for running, although there is some dirt pack to the side; fairly exposed, although there are patches of shade and some beautiful...

I hate to share this wonderful place but here goes! It is my favorite place to go trail running and photograph friends! You do need a permit to go here though!

That said let me describe the trail a little bit: It's about 3.5 miles round-trip. Really really wet and muddy at the start! Be prepared for that. Instead of annoying switch backs you get nice big bends and turns. Lots of hills, but a great place to work on down hill running. The last hill of the trail will be the most challenging as on your way back up it you'll be running up 150 ft--wait, maybe better to say that it's a half a mile uphill. This place is Serene and I love going solo for a peaceful run and stretch. Also just makes for a great hike. The views are just wonderful.

I extend my run by crossing the street and heading down to the reservoir. When you get to the second street you'll go downhill, not uphill.

Happy...