Redwood Regional Park Stream Trail in Oakland

On a recent trip to Oakland, I was shocked to find out that there is a regional park with coastal redwoods only 15 minutes from downtown. The park features dozens of miles of trails, some heading through redwoods and some just along the ridge. Either way, it is a great spot to get active in the city; here’s all the information on the short Stream Trail.

Details

• 2 miles round trip (where we ended, but you can go longer)
• Flat
• Bike and wheelchair friendly
• Location: Approx 7867 Redwood Rd, Oakland, CA 94619
• This information is from my visit in 2017

Getting There

There are multiple entrances to the park, but this trail is from the Redwood Gate, which is in the southeast part of the park. You can find it by heading here 7867 Redwood Rd, Oakland, CA 94619, and when your GPS says you made it, it will still be about a mile ahead on the left. There is a kiosk where you can pay your $5 parking fee, then head to the end of the parking lot to start the trail.

The Trail

This is a short and easy trail for the whole family, and it is bike-friendly (paved) as well for the first mile. There are also flush toilets near the start of the trail.

The trail meanders slowly through a few small groves of trees before heading to a broad meadow where there is a playground for children.

From here, the trail crosses a bridge, and this is where it gets beautiful.

There are a few groves you will get to on the trail, and each has a dirt path that takes you into the grove from the main cement path.

The first grove you reach after crossing the bridge is small, with only a few decent sized coastal redwoods in it. These are not the massive trees you would see at Muir Woods or Yosemite, but they are still impressive.

Heading out from this small grove, you will see the largest trees I found on the trail. They are located behind a low wooden fence, and they are big!

There is even a small trail you can backtrack to that goes behind the trees and down at them.

From there you will reach the largest of the groves I saw, the “Old Church” section. There are a dozen or so trees and an outdoor amphitheater in this grove.

Heading on, you will reach the marker that notes the trail’s end. This is just for bikes, as the hiking trail continues, but we did not have time to do it on this trip.

On the way back, we took our time and got pictures of many of the trees, completing our hour and a half in the park.

Honestly, I was impressed with how great this park was for how close it is to Oakland. I recommend you add it to your list and go check it out next time you are in the city. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.