Riding on the gravel paths of Berkeley's Brickyard Cove Park
We took the group of kids to bike on a family ride at the new Brickyard Cove park in Berkeley at the shoreline. It recently opened earlier this year. Apparently it had been privately owned land that had been a dumping ground for decades. Originally slated for a mall, after zoning battles, it appeared to have been purchased by East Bay Regional Parks in the late 90s. And now it has finally been developed into a park in 2022.
Brickyard Cove has beautiful views
The location is nice. It's right off of the University Ave pedestrian bridge, aka the Berkeley I-80 bridge, and is right next to the Bay Trail. It offers expansive views of San Francisco, the Emeryville Marina, the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Berkeley hills, and Mt. Tam. It's right on the water, and you can venture down to a small beach if you want. There are chances to see some aquatic life as well. It was windy that day but not too chilly.
The gravel trails are fun for bike riding, but a little loose in sections
The gravel trails provide a fun space to ride on. In some parts, the gravel is coarse and loose, so be aware. A few kids had some gentle falls at points on some of the loose patches. There's a lot of open space for kids to ride and run around. There are bathrooms, but for some reason they were locked while we were there. There are a few picnic tables, which were nice for hanging out and having snacks.
Other small quirks: Windy, not much shade, parking (if you drive there) is a little confusing. But still great overall
It's pretty flat and be aware that there isn't any shade available. This wasn't a problem for us in the late afternoon. We rode our bikes there, but others who drove found that getting to the parking lot was a little confusing. The bathrooms were locked for some reason while we were there, I'm not sure why.
In general, it was a really nice time with pretty views and the kids got a chance to ride and play with pretty views in the background.
Here's a video of some of the paths:
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