Free tours of the marina

Come down to the Marina on one of two Saturdays over the next month for a City staff-led tour. Then spend the day exploring the land, views, food, and adventures of our waterfront.

The free boat tours on August 16, will explore the Bay Area’s largest marina. The September 13 will be a walking tour only. The docks offer many ways to get on the water, even if you don’t have a boat. 

Sailing clubs offer low-cost and free ways to learn to sail. If you wish, charter boats will take you across the seas. Fishing boats take out weekend anglers in early September for salmon season. You can even just borrow a life-jacket from our marina office to walk down the K Dock and watch the fishing boats come and go.

And once you’ve explored the marina, the waterfront offers a world apart:

• a maker space for kids to saw, hammer, paint and build;
• restaurants to dine in;
• a park to explore;
• a nature center for learning;
• and one of the most unique and expansive views of the Bay and its surrounding terrain.

Come for the free tour. Make it a staycation.

City staff-guided tours of the marina

Small groups will meet at the Marina Office on August 16 and September 13 from 10:00 am to 12:00pm. The tours are first come, first served. They will begin every 20 minutes.

• August 16: 15-minute boat ride on the Berkeley Harbor
• September 13: Walking tour on paved paths

Each tour includes:

• Stops at two tour locations around our waterfront
• Information about public spaces and upcoming Waterfront improvements

These guided tours are free and open to everyone. Youth must be with an adult. Accessible restrooms are available. If you arrive late, come to the Marina office at 201 University Ave, or call (510) 981-6740 to check for availability.

play, learn, picnic

You can seek experiences for every age on the waterfront. 

Adventure Playground offers one of the nation’s most unique sites for unstructured play and creative exploration.

Kids learn safety through experience. At the Adventure Playground, they can create with hammers, saws, paint and recycled materials. Others come to romp through the forts, boats, and towers built over time – or still actively under construction. Kids can swoop down a zip line.

Visitors to the nearby Shorebird Nature Center learn about local wildlife and see 200-gallon salt water and freshwater aquariums. They do this all within a straw bale building that runs on solar power.

On the other end of the waterfront is César Chávez Park, 90 acres of open grassy fields, paved trails, and sweeping views of the San Francisco Bay.

A 1.25-mile accessible loop, part of the Bay Trail, winds through the park, drawing walkers, joggers, dog owners, and nature lovers.

Nosh at four restaurants, get a tumbler

As you amble around the waterfront, there’s pretty much a dining option at any time of day.

Snatch a drink at Roaming Bean Coffee. Brunch as the sun rises at the Berkeley Boathouse. Or watch the day fade into evening with cocktails or meals at Hana Japan Steakhouse or Skates on the Bay.

Grab a free tumbler at the marina office and take it around to the restaurants for special offers and stickers. When your tumbler has five stickers, bring it back to the marina office by September 30 to get a Visit Berkeley tote bag, be entered in a drawing to win a $25 gift card, and select from sunglasses or a coupon to Skates on the Bay.

Come down to the waterfront for the free tours. While you’re there, you’ll find a destination where people of all ages can explore and escape for a day.

links

• Waterfront Tumbler Tour and Boat Ride
  • August 16 (boat tour)
  • September 13 (walking tour)
• Waterfront Amenities
• Events calendar
• Adventure Playground
• Shorebird Nature Center
• César Chávez Park

Sept. 10, 2025 Update: The Sept 13 tour was updated from a boat tour to a walking tour.