Live Oak Park

located around various family friendly places such as the playground, community center (you can find activities for kids). offers relaxing atmosphere that’s why you can see people meditating.

THE ESSENCE OF the BERKELEY EXPERIENCE. Live Oak Park is located just a block north of the «gormet ghetto» in Berkeley, CA. The park has a basketball court, tennis courts, out-​od-​doors children’s jungle gym, an activities building, an in-​doors playhouse, a stream with a grassy bank on its southern side, and a large grassy lawn on its northern bank, and a picnic area in the dark gully through which the stream flows. To the north and just across the street from Live Oak Park is a small art museum with rotating exhibits where evening concerts of classical music are performed. Only once did I attend the theater. This was some time ago, perhaps in 1975, when I saw a dramatization of Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. On one occasion, my laboratory held its weekly journal club meeting at the picnic table in the dark gully. As with all of our journal club meetings, one of us gave a presentation of some aspect of DNA repair. LIVE OAK PARK is truly the «Swiss army knife» of municipal parks.
But what makes Live Oak Park the essence of the Berkeley experience? A couple of times each summer, Live Oak Park wakes up with an arts and crafts fair. Truly, what is found is the Mother Of All Arts And Crafts Fairs. There is typically a face painting booth for children, a magic act by Johnny Casino, a juggler (he juggles hatchets and apples, taking bites of the apple as these objects rotate in the air), folk musicians, and displays of quilts, mixed media, metal sculpture, photagraphy, pottery, paintings, woodwork, bookbinding, and media that you didn’t even know existed. Apart from the arts and crafts fair are performances by San Francisco Mime Troupe, which I have viewing since the mid-​1970s, not every year, but perhaps once every three years.
I have been attending events Live Oak Park since 1974, when I moved to the north side of campus and had a nearby apartment across the street from Walnut Square.

Just visited this park for the first time today. It’s nice and shady & has cute woodsy picnic spots. Was pretty quiet today, with a few kids playing, people picnicking & some lying in the sun. Pretty relaxing spot!

What a beautiful park. Small and just perfect to get away from city life.
I was there for a very short time but already planing to go and have a nice picnic soon.

My husband and I love the parks in Berkeley, we have enjoyed the beauty for many years. We had never tried to reserve a spot for picnic before however and the experience is definitely one for BUYER BEWARE! I booked a spot at the park from noon to 7:30 for $ 144(not cheap) online on a Sunday, the same day my husband said it’s too much let’s cancel. So I searched through the online tools with no cancellation option supplied. The next day was a holiday and the office was closed, even so I emailed. At first my request was rejected on the basis that I needed to provide 7 days notice and since I had booked at seven days and there had been a holiday I was at 5 days. After a few phone calls the problem was resolved. So I monitored my bank account to look for a reversal of the charges, no luck. I called and I was told that the City of Berkeley does not do that and that they will send a check with a 25% administrative fee. Lesson DO NOT BOOK BERKELEY PARKS unless you absolutely mean it!

this park is really wonderful. every year they have a Himalayan fair with many booths filled with art, jewelry and delicious food. this park has tons of green grass, a stone bridge and enchanting ivy. it also has beautiful trees, bbq pits and pic nic tables.

Lovely, lovely park.
Relatively new in town and happened upon this treasure after brunch with a good friend. It has secluded shady picnicking spots, one even has a faucet and fire-​pit. Explore winding stone stairways and step stone across the babbling brook that runs the length of this sloped yet easily accessible grounds.
Towering cedars — check.
Age old oaks — check check.
large grassy knowles — check.
seating — benches, picnic tables — check
tennis courts — check
We’ll be back very soon.

Lots of good memories going here to attend the annual Himalayan fair, for many years. Only thing is that the place has a lot of ups and downs and as such is not the easiest place to walk around. Its a great place for having a get-​together or just walking around. Basketball and tennis courts are also there, which is nice for some recreation, along with a little kids’ park. Overall, a peaceful and nice place.

Excellent little park tucked into a neighborhood that hosts loads of little events — I particularly enjoyed the Himalayan Festival last time I was here. Fair set up can leave things feeling a big congested — loads of trees increase competition for sunny spots to sit. Charming little urban park!

Park: five stars for all the reasons you can read in the other reviews
Minus one star for the idiots who let their dogs off their leashes. There are children in the park who are afraid of dogs. There are cats in the park who get eaten by dogs. There are cars in the street who run over dogs. There are dogs who like to attack other dogs. Not only is it the law to keep your dog on a leash, people, but it is the humane thing to do for all involved including your dogs. Last time I was there someone’s dog ran into traffic and almost got hit by a car. That is not fair to the dog or to the poor person who could have killed the dog. I love dogs as much as the next person but control them while they are in public for everyone’s sake.

Its been a pleasure living close to this park!
Live in an apartment so I cant BBQ, this past 4^th of July we attended this park to do so (I’ve been going almost everyday since for the basketball courts). Everything went perfect. Peaceful feeling park, with open grass to have fun on. People with dogs, reading, laying in the sun, just a great place to chill out. They do have a pitt, its definitely serviceable, just always think safety. There’s a basketball court, and tennis courts. Kinda reminds me of a mini «Diamond Park» in Oakland.
Just go there…

What an adorable park! Quaint green space, a creek, bridge, and a big fireplace you can cook your friends in. Perfecto.

Love this park! Came here today for the first time for the Himalayan Festival and this park is a perfect setting for it. Tall trees, very shady and cool with a bridge and a creek running through it. Lots of grass and the park isn’t all level, which adds a lot of dimension.

Tennis courts — killer shady lounge spots and benches and a lawn to lay around in — also stuff for the kids. GREAT little park!

I LOVE these tennis courts! I don’t know why they are not more popular, but I actually would like to keep this place a hidden treasure for myself, so shhhhhhhhhhhh… tell no one!
There are only TWO courts here but there is basically no one here competing with you for a court! They are in great condition, fenced off individually, and… THEY COME WITH LIGHTS!!!
There’s a cute little park right next to these courts and a little play area for kids and dogs! When you are done with tennis and all tired, you can sit on the swings and have a nice long heart to heart chat with your tennis partner while watching little kids run around and fall (kidding!).
Again…don’t know why these courts are not more popular!

This park embodies a Berkeley summer to me. As others have written — the size is perfect. Always a good crowd so you feel like you are in a cool spot, but large enough for you to still have privacy. Blocks from the gourmet ghetto. My favorite summer night includes a cheese board pizza to go, a hidden bottle of wine and a dinner picnic at Live Oak.
The children’s play area is also awesome although with very limited shade so a hot day is not ideal there.

This is my favorite park in Berkeley! I like it best when it’s early in the morning and the sun is coming through those huge trees– just filtering through the leaves and hitting off the surface of the creek. So romantic. Has to be early in the morning, otherwise the sun is overhead and you don’t get that Disney movie-​esque singing. And also it’s pretty crowded on a nice afternoon. Weekday mornings: not a soul in sight.
There’s also benches and sweet graffiti.

Great park… it’s the kind of park that is pregnant with beauty, helping to elicit the right cascade of feelings, the right ages of trees (mature=beauty, which also=shade), the gorgeous, sublime neighborhood setting, and the size to accommodate many and still give one privacy to picnic…
I’ve walked past on walks many times when I used to live in the GG, and recently, on a picnic with a large group. We spread out into a large circle and enjoyed the gorgeous sunshine… kicking off ‘dem shoes and letting that indescribable feeling of warm blades of grass caress the toes and soles. AHH
I love this park, which also has courts for batting around the fuzzies, and also sponsors some fun activities for children. Gorgeous Berkeley park.
Great destressor for students… pull a Richard Gere and take your shoes off, turn off your phone (or at least silence it!) for just a wee moment, and ‘smell the roses’ by being present, in *this* moment.

What an oasis! My fiancé and I have finally been touring the Berkeley spots we’ve passed on our bikes but never stopped at (or heard of but never even passed), and Live Oak Park was one of today’s stops. (Indian Rock was the main stop: see upcoming Unilocal list of such fantastic mini-​nature parks in Berkeley!) As Eric B. says, the stream and bay trees cool the shady area around the Art Center to a lovely temp, no matter how strong the sun. Kids seem to have a great time here, as do kids-​at-​heart: there are just enough sticks on the ground and big trees for kidsies to play with, and plenty of benches for parents to relax on. Today at lunch hour, there was one representative gentleman sitting at a picnic table reading the Chron under the bay trees.
A mural brightens the bridge leading under Walnut Ave. (a pedestrian underpass allowing you to walk along the stream from Spruce to Shattuck, uninterrupted). The grove and stream span two blocks, Spruce to Walnut to Shattuck; lawns run alongside the grove from Walnut to Shattuck. We were thrilled to discover this green patch connecting these beauiful residential streets we know so well. Take your kids, take a lover, take a picnic, take a gander at the Art Center gallery — you’ll be enchanted.

I’ve been here for the Live Oak Fair in June and tashlich (casting my baggage into the creek) during Rosh Hashana.
The Live Oak Fair is a fun Arts/​Crafts venue with lots of neat stuff and local flavour amongst it’s nooks and crannies. And when you need a break from that, the creek bed area is cool, shaded, inviting, and relaxing. My son also finds it an area of great exploration at creek level. And that is a perfect venue for tashlich later in the year.