Starting Sunday, Nov. 1, South Park Drive in Tilden Regional Park is closed to all motor vehicles through March 31, 2027. The East Bay Regional Park District closes the road every winter so California newts can cross it to breed. Staff have been working to protect the migration since the mid-1980s.
What's open and what isn't
You can still walk, bike or walk a dog on the road. The park district asks cyclists to ride slowly and steer around newts. Keep dogs away from them, because California newts are poisonous to pets. Berkeleyside says drivers can use Grizzly Peak Boulevard, Wildcat Canyon Road and Central Park Drive instead.
The district also asks drivers to slow down on Wildcat Canyon Road near the Regional Parks Botanic Garden, where many newts cross in an area without a closure.
Why the newts cross
Two native newts live in the area: the California newt (Taricha torosa) and the rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa). The California newt is more common in the regional parks. Adults are about 5 to 6 inches long. They spend the dry months in rodent burrows, under rocks and logs, or anywhere that stays damp. They head for breeding pools when rain or even heavy fog raises the humidity.
According to the park district, studies show some newts can find their way back to their home stream from as far as 2.5 miles, though most trips are shorter. In Tilden, many cross South Park Drive on the way to Wildcat Creek. Once in the water, males change the most: they swell up, their tails flatten for swimming, and they grow pads on their feet for gripping females. Larvae look like striped tadpoles with external gills. By late summer they turn into small land-dwelling juveniles.
Newts are not officially listed as threatened, but the district says their numbers have fallen over the past few decades, mostly because of habitat loss. All animals in East Bay regional parks are protected, so don't pick up a newt or take one home.