The Big C

I absolutely love this place; whenever I come here it brings back great memories of my time at Cal.
You can enter from the parking lot behind the Foothill dorms or directly from the backdoor of the Foothill dorm there are a set of stairs that lead to a dusty road. The incline is EXTREMELY steep at first but you can do it, the short (15 min) but intense hike is extremely worth it. It’s a good work out especially if you run to the top as I did oftentimes as an undergrad.
My favorite time of day to go is during sunset when you can see the Campanile, the Berkeley campus, and the entire bay. More often than not you’ll see turkeys on the way up too!
Half way through the hike you’ll note a mini path onto a hill-​ish area with a rope hanging down the tree. There used to be a swing here but since January 2016 when I last visited it has been removed. That swing was in the Facebook profile pictures of hundreds of my friends and it’s too bad it’s gone because it was so cute and the views there were stunning.

I’m happy to give five stars to the activity: hiking to the Big C! As others have explained, there’s a pretty obvious path that goes uphill from the south end of the Foothill Parking Lot. You’ll find the Big C clearly mapped on google maps if the phrase «Foothill Parking Lot» doesn’t make a lot of sense.
We went more or less straight uphill from the parking lot and got to our goal in 10 – 12 minutes. There are more gentle paths that probably take a few extra minutes. The C itself is in pretty bad shape, although it’s easy to argue that the Hearst Gym is a more pressing maintenance issue. There’s a fine view out over the Bay at the top of the hill, and already plenty of good views along the path as you go up.

The BEST secret spot in the Berkeley hills. A must-​do hike (warning– it’s pretty steep) for anyone who lives in the Bay Area. Apparently they don’t always have the swing up, so just cross your fingers that it’s there for you! Bring water and wear good shoes– we definitely didn’t plan appropriately, but we survived.

Nice 20 min hike. A staple for every Berkeley Bear or prospective bear. Can easily bring a 6-​pack and have some fun. Only bad part is when the otherrr school paints it red.

In a nutshell, it’s a short, easy hike that rewards you with a nice view of the bay area at the end (actually, the trail head is high enough to enjoy the bay area view as well).
For all the years I attended Cal, I have never been here. So after years of living with guilt and shame (not really), I finally decided to come here, and bring a group of high schoolers I now work with along with me.
Parking: You drive up Hearst, and shortly after passing Foothill Dorm, you will see Foothill parking lot on your right. Go in there, and it will split into the upper and the lower lot. The trail head is all the way at the end of the upper lot. (Tip: Sacrifice one person by dropping him/​her off at the split where the pay-​for-​parking machine is. And text that person with the parking spot number after you park. Otherwise you will have to go back and forth…)
The trail was somewhat steep but was short enough that I didn’t have to give away that I was getting a shortness of breath and my legs were starting to burn (I can’t show my weakness in front of a bunch of high schoolers). When we got to the top, there was a nice view over the Bay Area waiting for us. It was not a very sunny day, but we were still able to see even the Golden Gate Bridge.
Why 3 starts you ask? Maybe I picked a wrong day to come, but there were trash and empty beer bottles everywhere over the Big C, to the point that it was impossible to take a group picture without having beer bottles in the shot. (Not a very pleasant sight if you are working with high school students.) To be honest, it was a little embarrassing before the students…

This is a pretty easy and doable hike. It has an amazing view of the bay and would recommend to everyone. It is really nice and you could even have a picnic there or something.

Amazing view. Easy hike. Pick a quiet time and you will be inspired.

Very great view, however the way up is a bit confusing. Still love it! We spent approximately 35 minutes to reach the top, and we could see almost the whole Berkeley up there! It is the good place to exercise, hike, or just enjoy the view.

The view is really nice and the walk isn’t too bad either. For somebody who describes myself as being pretty out of shape, it wasn’t too terribly hard to walk up. The view is spectacular and I saw saw a deer as I was walking up (and down)! I went up from Foothill’s parking lot and I feel like that climb was one of the more difficult part of the hike: P

The hike was much shorter than we were expecting or hoping, but the view was nice! Pretty much the same view of the bay as anywhere else, but still worth going. Didn’t take long at all and was a good photo op

Hike is not very long. Less than a mile, but very steep incline. Wear some nice running shoes and be ready to climb the steep incline. As of December 2014, the swing is broken. The view is great… You get a view from Berkeley out to the Bay (both bridges), Alameda, and campus.
There are wild turkey and deer running around on the peak sometimes. Gobble Gobble!

Very beautiful view ! Accessible with car and you have to go up for less than 20 minutes !

Awesome view of the city and part of campus! It was a short, but fun hike up. It’s steep enough that it’ll raise your heart rate a little.
The map picture posted by Sharon J. is spot on; that’s the lot we parked at. I think it was $ 2 or something for an hour, which is enough time unless you’re planning on having a picnic up there (that would be cool!). There was one picnic table that I spotted — maybe there are more around that area, but that table was right next to the C.
One thing I want to note: on the way up, I saw a couple of bees buzzing around a tree. This was on my lefthand side while walking up.
If you’re allergic to bees, be very careful and look out for the bees or send someone in front of you to check it out. I’m pretty sure there’s a hive inside that tree!

Sharon J’s picture was extremely helpful!!!
Since I came on a weekday, I couldn’t park in the Foothill parking lot. Ended up (free) street parking around Gayley & Hearst and then walked up to the parking lot/​trail head.
When you get the trail head — head to the concrete trail on the left hand side. From there, any splits takes you up to the big C.
Steep hills, but was able to hike it in sandals and a maxi dress (impromptu hike). Made it to the swing and the C. Swing was way more worth it.

This was the best place to hike! I came to Berkeley for Memorial Day weekend to show the boo around my alma mater. It was a semi-​steep hike (then again, I’m a bit out of shape). At the top, as others have stated, you literally see a huge C. The view was amazing– beautiful sky, and it’s quite romantic as the sun sets. We even saw a family of wild turkeys, which made our evening.
Go Bears!

Easy, fast hike with a high reward.
Gorgeous sunset and view of the bay (you can see the Golden Gate bridge and the Bay Bridge on a clear day) as well as Berkeley! I love how the city lights up– you can see University Ave stretch all the way down in fuzzy yellow lights (or maybe that’s just me because I don’t wear my glasses).
The C gets painted during Homecoming, The Big Game, etc football stuff by the Berkeley Rally Committee I believe. I remember one time it was painted Red White and Blue for Bastille Day. Well, it was probably for The 4^th of July but I went on July 14^th after getting Masse’s.
It takes 5 – 10 minutes once you’re at the Foothill parking lot.
The screenshot off googlemaps might be easier than for me to describe how to get here–
Go as much as you can! Get that heart rate up and love the city you live in because you’ll miss it so much when you’re gone. love

If you are a Cal alum this is an automatic 5 stars.
Go Bears!

Admittedly, the big C itself isn’t much to look at. It’s yellow, it’s cracked, and there’s bottles of alcohol littering the scene. However, the view that the Big C affords is breathtaking. You can see so much more of the bay than on top of the campanile, and I can only imagine how pretty it would be at night. (My friend and I decided to go on a bright, sunny day. Tip: wear sunscreen.) Also, like a previous reviewer stated, there’s a great spot to take a panoramic photo halfway up the trail!
The hike is about 20 minutes long at a leisurely pace, but only if you start from the correct location. It took us a good 30 – 40 minutes just finding the right starting point. If you’re coming from North Berkeley, go up Hearst (which becomes Cyclotron) and take the fork on the right to park in the lot behind Greek Theater. If you’re coming from South Berkeley, we actually found a way to get there from Stadium Rim Way: go into the parking lot on Stadium Rim, walk on the dirt trail behind the Greek Theater and head north, then take the wooden stairs up into the Greek Theater back lot. Watch out for raccoons and snakes! (The turkeys and deer decided to take a day off, I guess.)

I got lost (typical me) and I had to crawl under a tree and over a stump, but we made it! It is a short hike, but quite uphill. But just keep your eyes on the prize and keep on going. Back in the ROTC days, we used to run that hill! The C itself is in need of some maintenance, but the view is breathtaking! Make sure you go to the top of the C instead of stopping at the bottom because it is much better at the top. Every Cal student must do the Big C hike! We also saw turkeys roaming around. Like, they even had the gobble gobble thing! I wanted a closer look but I have a fear of birds…
Some people also come to have a beer, but I wish they would dispose of their bottles…:sigh: undergrads…
Rally Comm was in charge of maintaining the C, I’m not sure if they still do that. But most importantly, they guard the C from those Stanfurdians when they try to paint our C red! …grrrrr!
I love our C! GO BEARS! :)

BIG C AT SUNSET IS SO PRETTY.
Everyone at Berkeley needs to hike up to this place a little bit before sunset on a clear day. I’ve come up to the Big C during the day and during the night, but those views are whatever to me… It’s all about the view during sunset! Wow I was so blown away. The sky turns into such pretty colors, and the city lights look amazing under the pink/​blue/​orange colored sky. CHECK OUT THE PHOTO THAT COMES WITH THIS REVIEW. LEGITTTTT. It’s my Facebook profile pic now heh.
I get too lazy to hike up sometimes, but thinking about how the view looks during sunset truly motivates me and helps me forget about my lungs going crazy and the pain in my legs.
On your way up, there’s going to be a swing to your left at one point (up a small hill, tied to a tree). GO ON IT!!!