Dracena Quarry Park

One of our favorite local parks. We live very close by so it is easy to pop over to this park with the kids. The park is very well maintained and has something for younger as well as older children. The rock wall is fantastic. The closed end of the park is nice because you can turn the kids free without having to worry about them leaving the park area.
This park has proven a popular location for school oriented gatherings and birthday parties. The people visiting the park typically live in the area and tend to be very friendly.
There is also a dog trail nearby that is very nice.

Yup! A real win! Clean, quiet park for our 1-​year-​old. Beware that Google will have you park FAR from the swings and park area. You’re better off to park on Artuna.

Clean, safe, quiet, and nestled into a beautiful neighborhood in Piedmont. This park isn’t as large as Piedmont Park, but there is a nice off-​leash dog run surrounded by towering redwoods.

Beautifully well-​maintained park hidden amongst the trees. Lots of grass and benches. We brought our kids today, (1, 6, 8) and they enjoyed for the most part. The eight year old got bored after 5 minutes lol with that being said this park is suitable for mostly 2 – 5. The cement path around the grass is great for new bike riders. I would’ve given 1 more star for more sun. Also, I hate sand in parks… every park should be upgraded to that squishy foam stuff. So much can hide in sand… bugs…feces…gross stuff.
Would come back to enjoy the grass but nothing more.

Beautiful hidden park!

I can’t believe that in five years of living here with kids, I have only recently discovered this gem of a park! If you have preschool or elementary school age children, you must come here!
What we love about the park:
— Super safe! It’s narrow around the play area, so you can give your kids a bit of free rein, and still make sure they don’t go anywhere. Plus, there is NO busy street close by…
— Green! So many trees — especially in the back part, which is surrounded by a paved path. It’s IDEAL for bike riding for the little ones — almost entirely level, and as a parent, you can stay in the middle of the lawn, and see everything!
— Great play area. Not just the same-​old, same-​old, but fun, unique things: a real climbing wall (perfect for ages 6+), a concrete slide on a hill, a bunch of rock to climb on and jump from into soft sand, a water fountain right in the sand box for sand & water play.
— Busy on the weekend with local families. The kids will always have someone else to play with — and the families we’ve met here have been super relaxed and engaged, making for great play time.
Overall, one of the best parks and playgrounds in the Oakland/​Berkeley area.

This is a lovely little park tucked in a quiet neighborhood. It’s never too crowded. It’s got a sand pit, climbing wall, the usual, swings and a slide, and a great green space with shade for picnics, frisbee etc. Great for an easy afternoon at the park.

Took a little family outing here in the late afternoon… Great park with mature trees, has a nice amount of sun but also plenty of shade. It’s quiet and safe. There is a play structure for 2−5yr olds. My daughter loves the baby swings (a little dirty but I can’t deny my child the swings)…when she gets a little bigger we will try the slide. Seen that there is a bathroom but didn’t have to use it. Cute park, we shall visit again soon!

Very cute park, ringed by mighty redwoods. Piedmont is a very comfy place to visit.

I was confused by some of the reviews I read about this park before I first went there, so I thought I would clarify some of the dog rules for others who are in search of off-​leash places in Oakland.
–The grassy area by the playground is NOT off-​leash.
–There is a «dog run» next to the entrance of the park, which is not a lawn but is almost forest-​like. Not fenced in.
My dog is small and gets spooked by big dogs, so I don’t take her into the dog run area – she would bolt if a big dog chased her, and there’s no fence to keep her from running into the street. We like to sniff around the grassy area, which is gorgeous.

Looking back on my park reviews, apparently I have yet to give any of them less than 4 stars. Is this because ANY effort at a park/​playground is a 4-​star endeavor in my book? Maybe. I’m a pushover for park space.
But I remember what Dracena Park used to be when I played (drank) here in the days of my misspent youth, and the city has definitely done a great job with the upgrades to the play area.
Great concrete slide — short enough for wee kids to enjoy as well (this is not the «chute» style of concrete slide that some may be imagining). Li’l M was having a blast just climbing up and down the stairs on it during our last visit.
Solid sand-​play area, complete with manual water faucet that funnels the excess down a trough onto the rocks/​sand in the middle of the play area. Definitely a great touch, especially on hot days.
The climbing wall… is awesome. Totally geared towards children and adults alike. It even has an inverted portion for the super-​hardcore climber. Very nice use of recycled rubber mulch for the area as well.
— — — — —
MINUS (ES):
The play structure itself is a bit of an afterthought, it seems. Not really much to it, but any play structure is better than none.
The expanse of lawn towards the rear of the park — which affords the most shade — is heavily dotted with clover. And clover means BEES. I am a huge fan of the native honeybee, but can’t exactly get thrilled about the constant worry of bee-​stings on 15-​month old feet. So just be on guard when you put your blanket down or run barefoot through the grass.
The rubber mat substrate that pads the play areas (swings, slide, play structure) is EXTREMELY slippery when combined with sand… so watch your little ones closely, especially near the large rocks underneath the water feature. I came very close to going down myself several times.
It’s also worth noting (although I’m sure you already knew this) that Dracena Park is home to a large off-​leash dog area (it is gated and separate from the play area), so if your child suffers from serious dog-​phobia, this may be something to consider.
However, I would *hope* that if your dog has a «strong prey drive» and is prone to chase down small children as described in the 1-​star review by Peggy W., you wouldn’t have them off-​leash in a public area anyway… because that’s just terribly irresponsible.
Park ON, bishes!

Always a good time walkin’ the dawg, or letting my kids tear into the play area. Dracena is a little oasis in the middle of Oakland. Wish I lived closer.

A five-​squirrel review for the dog park loop. My dogs love this park: mostly for the sassy squirrels but also for the big lawn that has something that draws them over to romp. Yes, I’ve been yelled at by the neighbors because the lawn is not an official off-​leash area but, a dogs gotta live a little in this dog ghettoized world (Have you seen the dog park on Linda Street? Where would a self-​respecting dog roll around?). The loop between the redwoods & eucalyptus is short but you can take it a couple of times to build up some steam.
Oh and I’ve had my share of happy afternoons at the kids’ climbing structure below with a very picnic friendly nearby lawn.

I miss Portland. I miss the trees and the serenity. This is a little bit of that in my world. Don’t get me wrong, Oakland has loads of things that Portland doesn’t (diversity, sunshine, and friendly people for starters) but there’s nothing like a day in a quiet park on a cloudy day in Portland. I love the big trees in the dog park area and the benches on the back side of the main park. For a small local park, it is all that it should be. A little crazy on the weekends, but fun to have a neighborhood park for all the kiddos in the area.

Cute little off leash dog park in the middle of residential Piedmont. I love that it’s not a closed in dog park. It’s small, quiet and you feel like you’re in your own little world. It’s surrounded by trees and there’s even a little grassy patch that you toss balls, if your dog is into that.
There’s also a children’s playground on the other side, but I could care less. Enter on Dracena Ave. at Park Way and you avoid the screaming children who may or may not scare the sh*t out of your dog. Just saying.

Nice little off leash area for dogs adjacent to a children’s playground. I don’t have kids so I stay in the dog side of the park. It’s small but really beatutifull, lots of huge trees and grass. Unfortunately dogs cannot be off leash in the grassy area. Great for an older slower dog, a small dog or those that like to chase balls. The park is in the middle of a residential area and is very quiet even with the children’s playground nearby. Warning: this is not a traditional fenced dog run, there is NO FENCE.

Piedmont has great parks and Dracena is the gem. Great sand area for the littlest ones, running water to make it even more fun (we have deluded ourselves that the water must be reused or recycled somehow — otherwise we feel too guilty letting our kids use it in a drought area). There’s a large climbing wall that most 5-​year olds can climb up and over. A couple of concrete slides add to the fun.
Most kids love just running around and climbing the treelined hills here. The only downside is that there’ one bathroom, generally semi-​clean and one water fountain that is semi-​functional. For a large park with a large kid and parent population, there should be better/​more facilities.
Great place to picnic also. Lots of grassy space to put down a blanket and relax with some food.

Parents, Please be aware that this park is adjacent to an off-​leash dog run! If you park on Artuna, you can avoid the dog run. If you park on Park Street or Dracena Avenue, you will walk through the off leash dog run. I have seen many parents walking through the dog run with several toddlers on razor scooters, trikes, and bikes. Some dogs with heavy prey drives might chase your child! The park itself is heaven for the children. Just don’t blithely allow your child to navigate the dog run to get there. I don’t let my dog run around the children’s area, and you shouldn’t let your child run through the dog area!

We (my 1 year old) and I love this park, and we often meet up with friends here. In addition to the great sand and equipment, there is ample open green space where kids can have unstructured play with a ball, frisbees, or whatever. Also, some people bring their very well behaved dogs and the children and animals all intermingle like in a storybook.
However, my favorite thing is how considerate and involved the other parents are. I often end up chatting with some of the adults as we all play with the children.

This park is a hidden gem, with a fabulous kids play area that was completely revamped a few years back. The entire park actually consists of two separate levels connected with a series of shady, wooded pathways on eight acres of land. The kids play structure is in the lower park in an abandoned rock quarry, with a curving path wrapping around the lawn along the base of the steeply excavated hills. We, too, love the huge, slippery concrete slide, modern climbing wall, and water/​sand play area; the sprawling lawn is perfect for picnics or Frisbee. Great place to relax and let the kiddies run amok.