Redwood Regional Park, Oakland

If you haven't checked this park out, I would highly recommend you go! We had an amazing day in the Oakland hills. This park would probably be best visited in the summer as there is heavy tree cover which provides a ton of shade. However, we visited in November and although it was nice when we started out, towards the end of the afternoon it got really cold! We started out at the playground, which on its own would be a great outing if you didn't have a whole afternoon. It has an amazing play structure, with a walking path going by it so bring the bikes and scooters! The playground is set in a huge clearing, which is great for a game of frisbee or catch. Just having a picnic at this park would be a great day.

After letting the kids play at the park for a little while, we decided to head out on our hike. There was some great scenery as we headed out; I loved the moss that grew on almost every tree, the green color was so vibrant! I took almost as many pictures of the park as I did of the kids! We started out on the path that went around the base of the hill, then headed up. The path was mildly steep for most of the way and the kids did a great job heading to the top. After a little while, it got really steep and my husband carried Nyah on his shoulders and I carried Cora. We would have never made it to the top with them trying to walk on their own; it was just too steep. We passed some mountain bikers on their way down ~ scary, but probably lots of fun. Once we got to the top, we realized we were directly across from Mt. Diablo and had some amazing views of it through the trees! At the top, the path leveled out for a while which was nice and gave us a chance to to enjoy our surroundings before heading down the hill and into the shade and coolness of the afternoon. Once we got to the bottom, the temperature was in the 40's so we were hurrying to get to the car as we were all getting cold. On our way to the parking lot, we passed a small group camp. I have no idea how they were camping out with the chilly weather, but they seemed to be having a good time.
Another amazing day out with my family....we plan to go back as there were many parking areas where we can stop and head out on a hike and explore. Can't wait!

Tilden Park ~ Little Farm

Ok, we all know Tilden Park is awesome: steam trains, carousel, farm, etc. if it would just be a little easier to get around. The signage is not very helpful as you maneuver through the Berkeley hills which makes things even more frustrating, but if you can manage to find what you're looking for, I guarantee its worth it! So this day, we decided to hunt down the Little Farm. I had heard about it numerous times and although my sense of direction is pretty good, I was not sure I could find it on my own with the kids. So, I decided to wait till my husband who has an amazing sense of direction could go with me.
Although we had directions that seemed pretty clear, it still took a few wrong turns and a stop at the Lawrence Hall of Science to ask for directions, but we did eventually find it! Yeah!!!! Again, it was around lunch time when we arrived, so we sat at a picnic table and had lunch before venturing to the farm. What an great place! I had read on the website that we could bring lettuce to feed the animals, so I grabbed a bunch of romaine we had in the fridge before we headed out and the kids really enjoyed feeding the animals food that we had brought ourselves as opposed to buying something there. There were cows, goats, chickens, etc. The farm is built against a large hill and you climb the hill to get to the goats, etc. We wandered around the farm for a bit, reading about the animals and feeding them. After enough wandering, we walked back across the path leading to the farm and hiked a loop through some gorgeous greenery of the park. It was a very easy, flat hike that the kids really enjoyed. The path loops a small pond where we saw some ducks and turtles. The kids are always excited to see any kind of wildlife, so this was really fun. Some of the path was dirt and some was a wooden path that sat on top of marshy ground. It probably took us an hour to hike the loop, but we took our sweet time and studied lots of cool animals, plants, etc. The Little Farm is another gem where the kids can discover, learn and just as importantly, be kids!

Lake del Valle ~ Livermore, CA

Although this is my 2nd post on a park in Livermore, Livermore is new territory for us and is quickly becoming one of our favorite places to hike and explore nature. Lake del Valle lies in the foothills that surround Livermore and has a ton to offer. As I mentioned before, my son loves to fish and Lake del Valle is a great place to do that as there are a ton of spots along the lakeshore to stop and fish. This is a man made lake that also offers swimming, boating, kayaking, camping, a dog run, boat tours, pontooning, hiking, you name it and it can be done at this park. On our first trip over, we found a spot on the dog run trail to settle in for the afternoon while the kids played in the water and fished. The water was clean and cool on this hot Sunday afternoon which was a great relief. I love nothing more than finding a spot where the kids can play freely and just explore their surroundings and be kids. This allows me some much needed down time, but more importantly, I feel like it allows my kids to learn about the world around them on their own terms without me or another adult directing or redirecting them whatever the case may be. Either way, Lake del Valle is a great place for families to explore.
On our 2nd trip out there, we decided to try kayaking. Unfortunately, when we got to the park, there were gale force winds and there was no hope of me being able to keep the kayak from being thrown about by the wind. Thankfully the kid working the kayak rentals let us know that it would be pretty rough out on the lake and that he was already thinking he was going to have to save some people that had gone out in kayaks. We appreciated his honesty and heeded the warning. We then went out to the swimming area to try to let the kids play in the water some, but the wind was so strong that it was not enjoyable and we ended up just going home. We expect to return to this park soon to continue exploring the many activities offered!