If you want to stand among redwoods in the Oakland hills without a real hike, the East Bay Regional Park District points you to Roberts. The 87-acre recreation area on Skyline Boulevard has its entrance and parking lot inside a grove of fragrant second-growth redwoods. The district calls it the best redwood access for visitors who can't walk far.
The logged forest and the navigation trees
The original forest was logged between 1840 and 1860 to supply the growing Bay Area. Near the Madrone picnic area, State Historical Landmark No. 962 marks the general location of the "navigation trees." Ships entering the bay used these two giant redwoods as a sightline to steer around Blossom Rock, a submerged hazard between Alcatraz and San Francisco. Wikipedia says the trees were cut down between 1851 and 1855, and the rock wasn't removed until 1870.
Since December 2018, the Old Growth Redwood Heritage Viewing Deck, built with Save the Redwoods League, has shown off a giant stump that had lain hidden for more than a century along the Roberts Ridge/West Ridge Trail. To get there, hike the Roberts Ridge Trail to the Redwood Bowl area.
Picnics, play and the pool
The park has a baseball field, playfields, a sand volleyball court and a barrier-free children's play area that is wheelchair accessible. Reservable picnic sites include Bay Vista (100 people), Huckleberry, Sycamore and Madrone (50 each) and Oak and Roberts Grove (35 each). There are two more sites in the Redwood Bowl area. Reservations are encouraged for groups of 25 or more. The Redwood Bowmen archery range is inside the Redwood Bowl entrance.
The renovated Roberts Pool is heated, about 5,600 square feet and 3 to 9 feet deep, with gender-neutral, fully accessible changing rooms. It won't open again until the 2027 swim season.
Hours and fees
The gates open at 8 a.m. year-round. From November through February they close at 5 p.m., and they may close early on slow or stormy days. Parking is $5 per vehicle and $25 per bus. The kiosk is cashless. Trails connect to neighboring Redwood Regional Park.
Who Tommy Roberts was
The park opened in 1952 and is named for Thomas J. "Tommy" Roberts. At the time, he had been secretary to the park district's board for 24 years, and he stayed on the board until he died in 1958 at age 95. In 1979, Roberts became the first park in the district to be "adopted" by a local company, Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. The district created the adoption program in July 1978, after California voters changed the state's tax structure and cut funding for agencies that depended on property taxes.