Open in Map
Adventure Playground is a wonderfully unique free outdoor play space for children and families.
Visitors to Adventure Playground can enjoy playing on the many kid designed and built forts, boats, and towers, riding the zip line or creating with hammers, saws, paint, and recycled materials. Children under the age of 18 must have a supervising adult registered to attend and watch them during their time at the playground.
Hours and general information
Adventure Playground is open Saturday and Sunday only from 11 am - 5 pm. Please see our Visitor's Guide for detailed information.
Spring Hours
- Saturday and Sunday, 11am - 5pm
- Closed, when it is raining
Summer Hours (Starting June 4)
- Monday through Friday, 9am - 5pm
- Saturday and Sunday, 11am - 5pm
Donations
Donations are by appointment only. Please call or email first so we can let you know if we can use the items and plan to assist you when you arrive.
We welcome donations of scrap materials that stimulate creative play including:
- small or long 2x4 or 4x6's
- fabric
- sturdy wooden furniture
- 8D or 16D sinker nails (not galvanized, please)
- washable tempera paint
- 3/4" or 1" thick plywood pieces
- small blocks of wood
We cannot take the following items: pressed wood or particleboard, pallets, materials that could hurt a young child with bare hands, including metal, sharp, splintery wood or house paint, old wood or thin wood, or pressure-treated wood.
Employment Opportunities
Are you a talented, enthusiastic, motivated, and responsible individual who enjoys engaging new youth programs? We are recruiting employees for our camps and programs. For more information and application, please visit our employment page. Email your completed application to Recreation@cityofberkeley.info.
History
Adventure Playground at the Berkeley Marina opened in 1979. The concept for Adventure Playgrounds originated in Europe after World War II. Lady Marjory Allen, a landscape architect, and children’s advocate studied children playing in the "normal" asphalt and cement playgrounds. She found that they preferred playing with parts that they could move around and manipulate to make their own makeshift structures. The kid-built forts and structures at Adventure Playground create opportunities for children to learn cooperation, meet physical challenges, and gain self-confidence.