Alvarado Park

One of my favorite parks in the city of Richmond. This park connects to the Tilden park which goes to Orinda and Berkeley. I have been coming to this park since I was in middle school and this park brings back many good memories of field trips here and occasionally ditching class here. When we weren’t in a drought there was a creek here which looked very nice but now since rain levels are low the creek is dried out which takes away from the nice creek view. There are many areas of the park (BBQ & benches) that you can rent out for a birthday party or baby shower. They have porta pottys which they need to upgrade to actual bathrooms at some point. There is a large play structure here for kids and water fountains. As you can imagine there are plenty of hiking trails here and much wildlife to see here. There is also plenty of parking at different areas of the park which makes for easy access to which ever area of the park you want to get to. Overall great park, kept clean and you can always find people here walking their dogs or out for their morning or end of the day walk/​run. It is also very quiet here which makes for a peaceful area to hangout in. Check this place out if you are in the area!

I’ve found a way to hike and enjoy this pastoral country area from the north, and not the southwest (which is where the proper parking lot is). Finding easier parking alternatives and quicker avenues to get straight onto a trail is the name of my game!
PS there’s even a street nearby named JANA VISTA! No joke!

Love this little corner of Wildcat Canyon. There’s always parking and the hills provide an added challenge to fitness-​minded people! The views are breathtaking and there are even water fountains spread out along the trail (pretty far apart though). Quite a few areas with picnic benches to take a break and just take in the sights.
People along the trail are pretty helpful with local tips too!
only down side I’ve come across is that people don’t tend to follow the dog rules at all. 1. dogs must be on leashes. I love letting pups roam and have a blast, but seeing a couple pups get into a fight is not awesome in any way. 2. pick-​up pet poop. there are tons of little plastic poop bags spread all along the parks trail… that doesn’t count as picking up owners!

I just love this place! It brings back so many memory’s of my childhood and then my teenage years! OH BOY the stories I remember. To have such a permanent place. Of old school memories to still visit is a rare and wonderful experience.

I love this place! It is a part of Wildcat Canyon where they had that rape… Be aware. Anyhoo, my Chaucee Baby loves it. Nice hill, and 1 can take a diff trail for about 4 days straight.
Go There. Richmond Gem

This is a beautiful historic park. It’s a great place to take a family hike complete with a nice playground in the middle of a bunch of pretty trees. It’s not too crowded on most days either. Also a great spot to BBQ.

We walk in Alvarado Park every day with our dogs. The park is the site of an old Indian village, and you can still see the grinding rock behind the gazebo They now have 4 lovely clean permanent bathrooms, and the park is kept up very nicely. Lots of very old stonework from the WPA during the 30’s. Great playground for kids. This park and their rangers deserve 6 stars!

My five year old loves this park. There is plenty to explore.

We were out searching for Wildcat Canyon and stumbled on this place instead. It’s a gem. I don’t think there is a parking lot — so you’ll need to find street parking … it’s nestled deep through residential areas.
Dog friendly … but keep them on a leash! Lots of picnic tables and several «Camps» separate one picnic area from another. I’m not sure if you have to make reservations for use of the grounds — but we saw several birthday parties /​picnics going on — non of them intruding upon the other.
It was a quiet stroll for us as we wandered around looking for a letterbox (which we did eventually find). It was a great way to spend a lovely afternoon with exercise, adventure and mystery all rolled into one.

We were invited to a good friend’s daughter’s 1^st birthday here and I’ll admit, I was skeptical. A park in Richmond? Is this really somewhere I want to go hang out with my kids?
But I was wrong. Dead wrong! This is a GREAT park! It’s HUGE! There are so many different areas to picnic or reserve for a party. There were 4 different parties going on in our general area but it didn’t seem crowded. There is a nice division of areas to give you a nice private space.
There’s a playground for the kids which is a little older but not dangerous or boring in any way.
But my favorite part? The dragonflies! Yes, dragonflies. TONS of them! My kids loved running around the grass trying to catch them.
The only bummer, at least in the area we were, was that they only have porta potties. They are bigger than the average porta potty but still a porta potty nonetheless. I wish they at least had the hand sanitizer some have.
But really, a great park.

This park really is good stuff… And just begs for a high fantasy larping game to romp through its canyons, dry stream beds, huge tunnels and then cook over antique outdoor stoves and sleep amidst the giant hollowed out trees.
In exploring Alvarado Park, one may run across ruins from former civilizations, play structures for the people native to the region, flora and fauna most diverse, and fellow explorers intent on some mysterious quest. Step with caution, brave adventurer, for you never know what the next trail shall unveil to you.

This park is the best kept secret in the East Bay — I’m letting the secret out!
Beautiful grounds, lovely places to sit and chill. My husband and I were married at the gazebo. One of our favorite lazy sunday pastimes is to pack the picnic basket with a bottle of champagne, spread out the blanket and bask in the sun.
Has a nice children’s play area, creek to romp in and plenty of open grassy space for a impromptu criket or badmitton game.