Tilden Park in Berkley
Tilden
Park in Berkley is a very big place. The first time we visited for a hike,
we could have easily come and gone without ever knowing what other fun places
there were for kids and families to visit there.
The hiking alone in Tilden Park is wonderful. It is a wooded
area, and tends to be fairly cool compared to many other places around the bay.
Our preschooler didn’t have any trouble with the trail we hiked, but since we
have only hiked twice here, I am sure there are places with much more challenging
trails. However, if you want to hike with little ones, you won’t have trouble
finding a good place to do so in Tilden.
In addition to the lovely hiking trails, Tilden Park also has
a small train that can take you for a short ride through the woods, and even
smaller trains that can take kids for a ride around the miniature train yard. The
train runs on weekends only and parking is fairly limited in the lot right by
the train. The trains open at 11:00 am, and it is best to get there a little
before they start if you want to park close by.
There is also an Environmental Education Center. Inside there
is a room-sized model of the Bay Area, and a few other displays to look at.
Naturalists also occasionally bring out some of their educational wildlife ambassadors
and give short talks about them. We were fortunate enough to get to see a small
snake and a tarantula on our visit.
Right next to the Education Center, is what they call the “Little
Farm”. It’s basically what it sounds like, a small area with farm animals.
There are cows, sheep, goats, chickens and ducks, and rabbits. It isn’t a
petting zoo, but if the animals happen to come up to the fence, they can be
touched. When we last visited, guests
were allowed to feed lettuce or celery that they had brought from home to the
animals. My kids were a little sad that we had nothing to feed because we didn’t
know ahead of time. I know from experience that the feeding rules can change at
these places depending on the health needs of the animals, so if you bring
something, please make sure to check the posted signs to make sure what you
brought is safe to feed before you give anything to the animals.
While we have never visited it ourselves, there is also a
merry-go-round, a botanic garden, and something called the Brazil building at Tilden.
We hope to go explore these other area soon. Most of these attractions are not
grouped together, but spread around the park, so we haven’t been able to see
more than one or two areas at each visit. To see a map to plan your trip, and
check hours of operation and costs, you can visit the Tilden Park page of the East
County Parks website.
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