Places to bike for a 5 year old
Hey little biker people!
I'm looking for a safe, pretty flat, no/little car traffic, nature-ish, location to bike with a 5 year old who is pretty good but somewhat new to the world of peddle bikes. Ideally it would be within the 580/24/13 triangle or maybe just outside of it. I've got several go to school yards so am NOT looking for more of those. Ideally what I'm looking for is like the paths in Bay Farm that go along the bay and the various canals. But I don't want to travel that far. Lake Merritt might be a good choice, although maybe too crowded. What about Mountain View cemetery, Lake Temescal or Shepard Canyon? I'm also open to flat streets with close to zero traffic or maybe a reservoir with a path or sidewalk around it. Thanks!
Parent Replies
Redwood Regional Park has both paved and well-groomed wide dirt paths. This was one of our favorite places for biking with the new rider at around the same age. The shoreline park around Alameda (this is an EBRP too).
Aquatic park is just outside the area you mentioned. You can enter it near the 13/580 interchange: 2925 Bolivar Dr, Berkeley, CA 94710
It has a nice flat path that goes all the way around the mile-long lagoon, and at the north end it connects to the pedestrian/bike bridge that goes up over 80/580, which my 4-year old has been super excited about biking to the top of as an extra challenge.
The Lafayette/Moraga bike trail is exactly what you want. A little farther afield is the Iron Horse Trail in Danville. We also like to ride bikes around the Berkeley Marina, although that does involve riding on some (quiet) streets.
Berkeley Aquatic Park would be my go-to choice! It's easy to access, there's a playground, and you can bike around the entire lagoon on a ped/bike path. You can add on trips over the highway to the Berkeley Marina or along the frontage road on the bay.
Hello. We used to go to Alameda with our daughter. The walkway along the beach is usually not too crowded. When she's a little older and wants to go fast and far, much of the old naval station is a good location with very little automobile traffic. It's not so naturish, but it still feels like you're exploring.
I hope you get a lot of replies that are in the area you prefer, but in case you don't I'll suggest the Iron Horse Trail (IHT) that runs for 32 miles along an old railroad grade from North Walnut Creek to Pleasanton. When my kids were first riding bikes and wanted longer rides we drove the bikes to the Rudgear Road Staging Area (South Walnut Creek) and biked along the IHT to Sycamore Valley Rd. in Danville, exited the trail and walked our bikes along Hertz Ave. stopping for lunch or frozen yogurt and then rode back. It's just over 5 miles each way, but flat and super pretty. It can get a little more crowded on Saturday and Sunday but nothing like Lake Merritt. The trail is very wide and the people we encounter (bikes, rollerblades, runners, people with strollers) have always been very friendly. Being able to ride 10 miles gave my kids a lot of confidence and it was a great way to spend a weekend day. Mountain View cemetery is likely too hilly, the path we found around a park in Piedmont was way too short, the connector path behind the Oakland DMV on Claremont to Frog Park was too short, and parking lots quickly lost their appeal. The area along the Berkeley Marina might be nice for you, I just remember it being super windy. I hope you find what you're looking for.
Check out Dracena Park in Piedmont, which has a 1/4 mile flat paved loop (maybe shorter). It’s great for practicing!
If you want flat, the bay trail is great, so is the new bike path on the Bay Bridge. If you're looking for trees and nature, Redwood Regional park has bike trails.
Dracena park has a nice smallish circular path. Slight incline in a couple spots. Also the path by Aquatic Park in Berkeley is nice and flat and by the water.
Have you tried the Nimitz trail at inspiration point in Tilden Park? That’s where I took my daughter. Great biking trail. Enjoy!
We use Mountain View Cemetery, Lake Temescal, and the Berkeley Marina for biking. Also the trail reachable behind the parking garage in the Montclair neighborhood of Oakland.