Berkeley in August is unpredictable weather-wise. Some days, it’s so hot all you can do is rip off your clothes and go swimming. For those days, I recommend packing up the requisite beach gear and heading for Lake Anza. This is a great beach for kids with a grassy area for a picnic and and a dressing room with not-warm showers. The water is roped off to mark where it gets deeper and to provide a grown-up lap swim zone. Get there by around 11am for premium parking, after that you might have to walk from another lot. Rumor has it that the food isn’t terrible, but I haven’t tried it.
Some days, it’s chilly and you can’t imagine dipping your toes in the water. For those days, i recommend packing up the little kid hiking gear, and walking around Lake Anza. For wildlife, you’ll see dogs splash in the doggie swim zone and lots of good bugs and even some huge banana slugs to entertain you. If you’re lucky, there will be wild turkeys or deer off in the distance.
And sometimes those chilly days burn into nice ones after you’ve had your hike. So keep those swimming things in the car just in case.
Details:
- Website: http://www.ebparks.org/parks/tilden
- Lake Anza 510-843-2137
- Lifeguards: 510-848-3028
Hours:
- Open weekdays 6/13 to 8/26 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Open weekends/holidays only 8/27 to 9/5 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Open weekends 9/10 to 9/25 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Swim at your own risk when lifeguards are off duty. Lifeguard hours may be extended during hot weather.
This post originally appeared on eastbay.savvysource.com written by me. They gave me permission to share it with you again over here since that site is no more. Photo of the lake courtesy of Cam Vilay via flickr.
