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Oakland Urban Paths (OUP) is a group of dedicated walkers, planners, historians and fundraisers with a common mission: to raise awareness of the paths and Oakland’s heritage.

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Update Summer 2021:

Given limitations imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s not possible for Oakland Urban Paths (OUP) to do its traditional in-person walks.  In the interim OUP has created two self-guided tours for you to take:

  1. The Black Liberation Walking Tour in West Oakland.  For information go here.
  2. A digital version of the Black History Tour OUP has offered in past years.  For information go here.

Other digital tours available through OUP include:

  1. Old Oakland
  2. Oakland’s Original City Squares
  3. Once Upon A Time, Happily Ever After: Lake Merritt

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In 2009 OUP helped update a pathways condition inventory of Oakland’s paths and stairs. All that data is used by the Public Works Agency in prioritizing which pathways to repair.  Become a WOBO member and get a free map that show you where these pathways are, or purchase one at a local bike or walking shop. OUP hosts walking treks held monthly on second Saturdays of the month.

Find out more about OUP and register for upcoming walks here.

Our walks blend neighborhood history with routes through many public stairways and
pathways. Some of our favorite walks have included:

  • Stairs Four Ways: This walk spanned the Eastlake and Cleveland Heights neighborhoods. The walk highlighted the differences in access and quality in different stairways throughout the neighborhood. The walk also passed by the site of the former Borax Smith estate and the Henry J Kaiser mansion.
  • Lakeshore to Glenview: This walk explored the many stairways of the Trestle Glen neighborhood, linking Lakeshore to Glenview.  Many of the neighborhoods in this
    walk were designed and laid out by the famous Olmstead Brothers firm, designed of New York City’s Central Park.
  • Explore Oakmore: Starting at Leimert Bridge over the Sausal Creek Canyon, this walk
    trekked up the hills of the Oakmore neighborhood out to Oakland’s iconic Mormon Temple. The walk included a visit with the Friends of Sausal Creek, who are working hard to restore ecology in Diamond Canyon Park.
  • Pathways to Parklets: This walk featured Oakland’s pilot project “Parklets”, street parking that is converted into small public area for sitting, congregating and enjoying the street. In between the two parklets on the route, the walk traveled on many stairways along the course of Glen Echo Creek.
  • Mother’s Day Walk: For Mother’s Day, OUP led a walk featuring Oakland’s beautiful
    Rose Garden. The walk also was OUP’s first trek through private property to reach another street (we got permission).
  • Oaklavia!: Oakland Urban Paths merged ourmonthly walk into the Love Our Lake Day/Oaklavia event by the Lake.
  • Watershed Walk: This walk was co-led by Waterfront Action, an advocacy organization dedicated to open access to the waterfront for all Oakland’s residents. We traveled along new sections of the Bay Trail from Union Point Park to the MLK Shoreline, stopping in the quirky artist neighborhood of Jingletown along the way.
  • Jack London Square Murals : Noel Siver from the Contra Costa Hills Club led us on a walk starting at Frank Ogawa Plaza, through downtown and Jack London Square, and ending near Lake Merritt, sharing the story behind local artists’ murals along the way.

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