Although not as famous for this geographic feature as the West Bay, Oakland has many hills. Primarily we have the hills, but we also just have a bunch of hills here and there scattered throughout town. Hills in Oakland are usually (usually? sometimes? always?) related to the way that water interacts with the ground (some good examples?). Hills might give you pause when you're considering whether to go carless, but don't let them scare you - most of them are not as bad as they seem and you'll be having fun going up and down the hills soon enough.
Really fun hills
- Excelsior - Up and down and up and down. Not so hilly that they can't be climbed on a bike but certainly a challenge. There are beautiful views heading west from Dimond. Difficulty: moderate
- Pill Hill - Head up Broadway and turn onto the sidewalk at 27th past a car on display and Z's Café onto Webster Street. It's a gentle climb up to Alta Bates and then a quick downhill under the 580 and on to Mosswood. You could mix things up and start at Mosswood and head south for a steep climb followed by a gentle descent. Difficulty: easy
- Claremont Canyon - Ride Claremont Avenue up past the castle and keep going up and up and up. You can stop off at Garber Park or keep going and head up to Tilden to the north or head south along the ridgeline to Sibley. Diffulty: hard
- Lincoln- Lincoln is a really really steep hill that starts in Dimond and heads up and turns into Joaquin Miller which is its own hill. You can travel past many sites on Lincoln including Sequoia Elementary, Head-Royce School, the Mormon Temple, the Greek Orthodox church, the cerebral palsy center, the Lincoln Child Center (which will soon be part of Head Royce)...
Less fun hills
- the
- same
- directive
Famous hills?
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