Oakland is the largest city in California and is situated on the east side of San Francisco. Having the most amazing landscape, Oakland is a great tourist spot and in recent years, has gained national recognition as a travel destination.
The most outstanding feature of the city is the San Francisco Bay and the skyline on the west along with the hills to the East.the city has an incredible ethnic and economic diversity along with an extremely rich history.
The city also has the highest concentration of artists per annum, owing to its rich culture and significant presence of art around the city. The city is dotted with numerous galleries, art studios, and museums in and around the city. The city also offers a very wide range of diverse cuisines in restaurants and in the local markets.
Apart from all of this, the city is also a home to a lot of cultural institutions, a bustling downtown scene and unique offerings that aren’t very well known to people still. Planning a relocation to Oakland? Then hire professional Oakland movers for a smooth journey.
In this article, we shall talk about the lesser-known places of Oakland that an old known to a lot of people accept the locals and help you get a glimpse of the city in a deeper way.
Some of these Hidden Gems of Oakland are:
1. The Crucible
Located in the neighborhood of West Oakland, the Crucible is a unique industrial arts collective. This place is more or less like a treat to art and crafts enthusiasts because it offers varied ranges in blacksmithing, ceramics, glass blowing, jewelry making, and numerous other forms of handicrafts.
This place also has few on-site studio labs and a blacksmith foundry that are used to facilitate the educational programs within The Crucible. There are also spot tourist guide that helped you in getting the detailed view of the complete place that includes blacksmithing, kinetic art and other aspects of industrial art.
Apart from the already existing things of historic importance, the place also schedules periodic extravaganzas that include flaming sculptures and fire performances for the tourists to enjoy. This place is one of the most outstanding places in Oakland.
2. Children’s Fairyland
One of the first storybook theme parks in the United States, the Children’s Fairyland is located on the shore of Lake Merritt in Central Oakland. However, the fairyland is now mostly dominated by larger and more famous amusement parks in that area.
This Park was used as an inspiration by Walt Disney while he was creating Disneyland. This Park houses a lot of gentle rides, fantasy gardens, live animals, and puppet shows that continue to attract young children and their parents for amusement purposes. The park houses a lot of storybook settings within the premises which include the setting of storybooks like Jack and Jill hill, the Jolly Rodger pirate ship from Peter Pan, the Alice in Wonderland tunnel maze, and Peter rabbit garden that include live Guinea pigs and rabbits.
Apart from this, there are also children-friendly rides like trains, a carousel, and a mini Ferris wheel available in the park. This place is not just a delight for children but is also an amusing experience for adults, taking you pretty much back to your childhood days. This Park has recently lost its crowd but if you are in Oakland then you should surely pay a visit to have an experience of a lifetime.
3. Middle Harbor Shoreline Park
Offering a spectacular view of San Francisco and the Bay, the Middle Harbour Shoreline Park has Oakland’s first public beach.drive through the port of Oakland to reach this hidden gem which offers you an interesting look at the history of the area and remotely of the city.
This Park offers a lot of things to be tourists like a spacious vista, plenty of parking, a fishing pier, and almost 3 miles of pleasant walking and cycling parts along with a beautiful and soothing environment. Within the premises of the park are available telescopes for the tourist to have a close a few of the surrounding landscape that is a treat to your eyes along with benches at every short distance that helps you to relax and have a view of everything in and around the park.
The planning and designing of this park has been done with extensive community involvement which identifies with the key goals of the park. The park has wheelchair-accessible parking areas, drinking fountains and restrooms.
4. Chapel of the Chimes
The Chapel of the Chimes is one of the most beautiful buildings in California which is designed by the famous architect Julia Morgan. This building is located in the Piedmont neighborhood of Oakland. The interior of the building is made very minutely with proper details that include labyrinthine passageways with carved stonework, has an in-house garden, numerous statues, mosaics, and beautiful fountains.
During the summer season, the building has regular and grand jazz music performances and special Garden of Memory events that are a delight to watch for the tourists. This place is a Moorish-Gothic labyrinth of mountains, trees, natural light, and Oakland’s notable dead.
Photo by Laurel and Michael Evans on Unsplash
5. Sibley Volcanic Regional Reserve
Sitting on the site of an ancient volcano, the Sibley Volcanic Regional Reserve lies on the east side of Oakland in the Berkeley hills. Be it hiking, cycling, or horseback riding, the numerous trails of pine, bay, eucalyptus, and oak trees become the ideal environment for them.
Offering breathtaking views of the San Francisco Bay, are the summits of lush green hills. In this place, there are two fascinating rock labyrinths that are built into the quarry pits from the reserve. This place is representative of the history of the city and is a must-visit.
When you visit a city, it is easier to find the main attraction of the city and explore them but you get to know the city in reality when you explore the hidden gems of the city. We hope this article makes your visit to Oakland, a little more interesting and fun.