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Lake
Temescal [EBRPD, Oakland] Lake Temescal is a great place to take kids swimming, and I remember many pleasant afternoons here, back when I could get across the beach on crutches. (I also remember that the climb back to the north parking lot was a hard pull in my manual chair.) That ramp is still there, and I would judge that on hot afternoons there's probably not enough disabled parking at the south parking lot, which is almost level with the beach, though further from it. But the good news, described in the link above, is that they have beach wheelchairs, and ample accessible restrooms and changing rooms. I notice they don't want the beach wheelchairs taken into the water, which would certainly be a problem for me--it wouldn't be much fun just to sit on the beach and watch other people swim! If you try it, I'd like to know how they accommodate disabled swimmers. But last time I was there was early morning,with a group of birdwatchers--as you can imagine, the lake is a nice bird habitat--and it was way too cold for swimming. Mist was rising off the water, and swallows darted and dived after invisible, but evidently plentiful insects. Even with the highway noise, the lake was a lovely place to be
Details: Lake Temescal is uncomfortably near the junction of Highway 24 and Highway 13 in Oakland. There is a $5 parking fee and additional fees for swimming or to bring a dog. Very good information about the facilities is on the PDF map, which also illustrates how to get there. Several accessible picnic areas with restrooms. Parking is available by the dam at the north end of the park, accessible from Broadway, but the ramp down to the swim area may be steep for manual chair users. Limited parking, including two disabled spaces, is available at the south end, accessible from Broadway Terrace.Or take AC Transit bus #59 from the 19th Street BART station or the Lake Merritt BART station to the south entrance on Broadway Terrace. Last visit June 2009. |
East
Shore Trail, through the middle of the park, is about 0.4 mile long,
and accessible except that the150 feet from the north parking lot to
the lake is steeper than 1/12. The 0.1 mile long Dam Trail connects
East Shore Trail to West Shore Trail, or would, if there wasn't a staircase
at its west end. Otherwise, it's accessible except for uneven going
over tree roots. Landvale Station Trail doglegs back from the top of
that climb and runs parallel to and above East Shore Trail. This brings
it very close to the freeway, so it's notan especially appealing route,
but you can use it to loop back to the south entrance. But where the
Landfill Station Trail meets the access road, don't make the mistake
of taking your wheelchair onto the sidewalk. It has no curb cut where
it ends at the parking lot; so it's necessary to travel in the road,
even though that means going behind parked cars to get back to the picnic
area.