Redwood Bowl Staging Area — Attraction in Oakland

Beautiful park, one of my favorite hiking areas in Oakland to enjoy redwoods, small streams, and either shaded or sunny hiking. Very dog friendly, almost all are off leash and friendly, I would not come here with a aggressive dog that doesn’t enjoy other dogs coming up to it to say hello. Everyone who hikes here are so friendly, I really enjoy the vibe.

However yesterday we had an unfortunate event with a police officer who was surveying the parking lot. We parked right next to the entrance of the trail (literally the first spot) and my dog was off leash but controlled and we walked to our car. The officer, a young Caucasian lady, came all the way from the back of the lot to us just to give us a “warning” that dogs must be on leash, while our dogs were already in our car. I felt we were targeted due to our age or race, since we met a couple of off leash dogs on our way to the parking lot, none of the owners (who were older and Caucasian) warned us about an officer giving warnings for off leash dogs. I would appreciate if the officers would do actual work rather than harassing hikers who are simply enjoying their day. I’ve been hiking here for YEARS and this is the first problematic encounter I’ve had with police. I hope they stop coming to harass a very peaceful and enjoyable recreational spot. Rangers / workers here are friendly and never once was warned or stopped for my...

To find Tree Circles exhibit. Walk straight into the trail at the back of the car park. Past the wooden box with park maps (Take & study) Then, less than 100y up the trail take a hard left at the first multi intersection. Going in past the fence signage towards the Roberts Ridge Trail. It’s just a short 50yards up at the 5ways...

We went down Madrone Trail and back up through Redwood Peak Trail. It was about a 2.5 mile hike. It was nice and shady. It was very steep on the way back. At the beginning of the trail they have a nice picnic area with a water fountain. It's great for dogs. I'm not sure if it's on or off leash but almost everyone had their...