Lake Merritt

Lonely Planet review

Lake Merritt is an urban jewel and a popular place to stroll or go running (a 3.5-mile track circles the lake). Once a tidal marsh teeming with waterfowl, it became a lake in 1869 with the damming of an arm of the Oakland Estuary. The following year, the state legislature designated Lake Merritt a wildlife refuge, the first in the USA. The lake still supports migratory waterfowl, and it's still connected to the estuary via a culvert, so its 155 acres are saltwater.

Like many other Bay Area parks, Lake Merritt is fine during the day, but be cautious at night. The two main commercial streets skirting Lake Merritt are Lakeshore Ave on the eastern edge of the lake and Grand Ave, running along the north shore. Both have some nice spots for meals, cocktails and coffee.