Big Red: Roberts Regional Recreation Area

Big Red: Roberts Regional Recreation Area
TREES Known for its grove of redwood trees, Roberts Regional Recreation Area opened in 1953. - Photo by Gary Crabbe/East Bay Regional Parks District

There is no shortage of parks in the East Bay, but few have as many amenities as Roberts Regional Recreation Area. 

In addition to sweeping views of San Francisco and the bay, the 82-acre park has numerous picnic and BBQ spots, a baseball field, a sand volleyball court, an outdoor heated swimming pool, an archery range, hiking trails that connect to trails at the neighboring Redwood Regional Park, and a sprawling, wheelchair-accessible playground. The park opened in 1953, but the area, known for its grove of redwood trees, has played a vital role in East Bay history since the early 1800s.Many pre-1900s structures were built using redwoods from the park, and two giant redwoods, known as the “landmark trees,” were used as navigational aids by sailors in order to avoid hitting a treacherous, submerged rock that was once in the bay. Today the park is lush with redwood groves yet again (even the parking lot is chock full of them)—though hugging them remains optional. Visit ebparks.org/parks/roberts.

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Managing Editor of The East Bay Express, Former Associate Editor of Oakland Magazine and Alameda Magazine, Columnist-In-Residence at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)'s Open Space, Advisory Board Member of Nocturnes Journal of Literary Arts, and regular contributor to several newspapers, websites and magazines. Miller is the founder of The Afrosurreal Arts Movement through his publication of The Afrosurreal Manifesto in The San Francisco Bay Guardian, May 20, 2009.

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