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Adventure Playground and Berkeley Marina Description

"We get to climb on that?! Wow!" shouted my kids, before the car had even come to a full stop, as the crazy climbing structures of Adventure Playground came into view. The philosophy at Adventure Playground, run by the City of Berkeley's parks department, is "to provide elements that are not normally found in a play environment." So yes, it's an "only in Berkeley" sort of place. There are piles of old tires, pieces of carpeting, and plywood, all perfect for fort construction, and kids can check out tools and supplies. The result: An ever-changing collection of kid-built shacks and club houses. The permanent climbing structures include an enormous cargo net to climb up and a cable and pulley slide that's essentially a modified zip line down into a pile of sand. But there's more: an enormous lawn area where kite flying contests are held, a waterfront walkway, and at the Berkeley Marina, the Cal Sailing Club provides free and low-cost sailing lessons and free sailing trips on Saturdays. Be sure to check out our other Berkeley vacation ideas.

Kid Tips

Toddlers & Pre-K: The Adventure Playground is fun for all ages, but some of the activities are designed for older kids, and officially they require that children younger than 4 stay "within an arm's length" of a supervising adult at all times.

School-Age Kids: Kids older than 7 can be dropped off at Adventure Playground for up to three hours, if you sign out a registration form and give a cell phone number where you can be reached. This service costs $10 per child. So if you're dying to go shopping on nearby Fourth Street, split up the family and everyone has fun.

Planning Notes

Groups of 8 or more require reservations: Weekend afternoons can get crowded, so the official policy is that groups of eight or more require reservations. How strictly this is enforced depends on how many kids happen to be crowding the facility on a given day.

You can use the facility as a babysitting service: Children over 7 can be dropped off for up to three hours -- parents fill out a registration form with a phone number where they can be reached. There are trained supervisors to oversee kids as they play.

Rain closes it down: If it rains, the playground closes. Plan accordingly.

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