Aquatic Park (Berkeley) facts for kids
Aquatic Park is a public park located in Berkeley, California. It sits just east of the Eastshore Freeway (Interstate 80). The park stretches between Ashby Avenue and University Avenue.
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped create this park in the 1930s. At the same time, the nearby Berkeley Yacht Harbor was also built. The main feature of Aquatic Park is a long, artificial lagoon. This lagoon is about a mile long. It was separated from San Francisco Bay when a causeway was built. This causeway was for the Eastshore Highway and the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge in the 1930s. Even today, the lagoon connects to the Bay. It uses special tunnels called culverts that go under the freeway.
Fun Things to Do
Aquatic Park offers many cool features for visitors. You can find nice picnic areas here. There's also a big children's playground called "Dream Land for Kids." A path for walking and biking runs through the park. If you like sports, there's even a disc golf course.
The lagoon is a busy place for water activities. The Berkeley Paddling and Rowing Club uses it all year. The Berkeley Water Ski Club enjoys the lagoon during summer. A group called Waterside Workshops also uses the lagoon. They offer youth boating and sailing programs. You can even rent boats from them on weekends. Waterside Workshops also has a community bike shop. It's located where Bolivar Drive and Bancroft Way meet. In the past, the lagoon was also a practice spot for the University of California's crew teams.
