Are there any bike paths for children learning to ride bikes in the El Cerrito/Berkeley area?
Hi! I am new to the area and was wondering if there any bike paths for children learning to ride bikes in the El Cerrito/Berkeley area? Thanks!
Apr 3, 2019
Parent Replies
There is a bike path that runs from Berkeley at Gilman and Santa Fe, all the way through Albany and El Cerrito. However, it gets quite busy and I would not recommend it until the children can ride with some confidence. For learning to ride, my daughter used the Thousand Oaks school playground on weekends. Also the Korematsu and Albany Middle school playgrounds are pretty big, flat, and not busy on weekends. Good luck!
My son learned to ride on the paved loop in Cerrito Vista Park in El Cerrito and the Ohlone Greenway. I would stay off the Greenway during commute hours, but it is usually mellow on weekends. I've also seen a lot of beginners on the Fairmont Elementary playground on weekends.
The bart trail is good but as another person noted can be crowded.
There is also the bay trail, along the water, which also goes near the adventure playground. And the ocean.
We taught our daughter to ride a bike in the playground area at Fairmont Elementary, and also along the circular path at Cerrito Vista Park on Moeser Lane.
Have fun!!
Cerrito Vista Park has a large loop around it that's great for learning to ride.
I used to take my kid to the Bay Trail bike path off Pt. Isabel. You can park in the parking lot at the end of the street just before Costco. Don't know where you live but you could ride around Memorial Park and behind Albany HS and of course along the Ohlone Greenway in El Cerrito north of the BART. Pt. Pinole has lots of paved trails.
Biking guides recommend Nimitz Way up in Tilden Park. Great views, but too difficult we found for beginning cyclists. (Too many hills.)
My favorite: the Bay Trail by the Richmond Marina. You can access it by the Marina, up by Pt Isabel (by Costco), just off the Bayview exit of 580, and multiple other places. Absolutely flat, gorgeous views, wildlife and -- if your little one can make it that far -- you can stop at the Rosie the Rivetter historical site and learn some WWII history, too. There are a few restaurants around Rosie, too, to make it an outing.
Yes! Ohlone trail it’s paved and runs from Berkeley to el cerrito
I would NOT take a beginning cyclist on the Ohlone Greenway (as other posters have mentioned, it runs from downtown Berkeley to the El Cerrito/Richmond border). Adult cyclists go FAST and are not tolerant (or careful) of children veering out of the right hand side. In El Cerrito it's particularly bad because the trail splits at a couple points, gets narrower, and there's no striping to indicate who goes where. I do this path daily as a pedestrian in EC; not a good place to learn to ride. We taught our kids at the El Cerrito Plaza BART parking lot (on Willow) on weekends. Others have mentioned the Fairmont School playground; please note there is no open restroom here so I wouldn't advise it for kids. Cerrito Vista Park, when Little League isn't going on, is a better bet. The Prospect Sierra playground may also be open on weekends (?); I believe it is flat (at the elementary site).