Kennedy Grove Regional Recreation Area

Probably one of my favorite parks in the east bay. It is located in the el Sobrante hills and it is tucked away making this a truly hidden gem. This park is very quite and it a nice place to come for a quiet moment to yourself (during the week that is). The park can get busy on very nice days and weekends. There is a playground for kids (which I would like to seem them get rid of the sand here and add foam ground instead), there are volleyball nets, large grassy area, many park benches/​picnic table, walking trail/​paths, hiking trails & bathrooms. There is also a large parking lot and handicap parking closer to the park. You can tell that the park is very taken care of because it is always maintain cleaned and there are always park rangers around. You can also rent out areas for your party or wedding. Definitely a beauty that you need to check out if you haven’t already!

Great park for hikes, barbeques, celebrations, and just hanging out with friends and family. It’s a large park so you’ll probably be able to find a picnic table or two to plop your stuff down.
On weekends it’s way more crowded than weekdays. If you’re trying to accommodate a larger group I recommend you make a reservation with the park in advance. My friend has a birthday BBQ here and was able to reserve a whole group of tables next to a sand pit where we played volleyball. If you don’t make a reservation, I say getting there as early as possible to reserve your tables is necessary.
You can find a few easy to moderate trails here. There’s a playground for the kids as well as a huge patch of grass in the middle where you can play frisbee or football and still have your own space away from other park goers. Bathrooms located at the front near the parking lot. The stalls facing the parking lot are way cleaner than the group restrooms. Super dog friendly park, terrain wise. I believe they do charge $ 2/​dog on the weekends in addition to $ 5/​car but they didn’t make us pay.
I love coming here for some quiet time with Mother Nature on weekdays where the park is less crowded.

We love to walk at this park. It’s beautiful year round.
Under staffed but the few who work here do a great job! Tree work today and still fun. Get the annual membership to East Bay Regional Parks and enjoy this and many others, well woth the 65 dollars.

Came here to hike with our dog. It was an amazing spot for winter hiking. No fee from November-​March. this is an amazing spot for an off-​leash hike with your dog!

This is a great time of day and year at Kennedy Grove. We love, love, LOVE this place. The grounds are not as well kept as in the past, but still it’s one of the few regional parks that has a nice paved path. Also pretty dog friendly.

As being apart of organizing a company picnic, we decided to feature our event at Kennedy Grove Recreation Area. Since I haven’t been there before, I basically sat back and listened to everyone gather ideas for games, food, and decorations. We reserved the «Frenchman’s Cornor» (I think that’s what it was called). There was ample space for more than 100 people to occupy, spacious, and close to a few open fields. There was also an area with trees which was great for rendering shade so we were able to stage our games there for people to play.
There was a ton of benches to fit everyone and we were able to rent tents for our food and such. The barbeque grill was immense! Able to grilled 100 or so patties, a few dozen hot dogs, and marinated chicken.
The restrooms were clean — in fact, I was really surprised how clean they were! We were also close to a kids playground, volleyball net, two open fields (that we used for soccer, playing catch with the football and a few other stuff).
Place is great to host events and I look forward to hiking the trails as well!

Great place for an intimate, outdoor wedding. Lots of outdoor space, and room for tables inside

A great place to host a BBQ. It can get a little crowded but plenty of space to play volleyball, catch and a little playground. Parking can be a pain (there is a fee) and limited depending if it’s a three day weekend.
Trails are awesome and steep on some hills. Local ranchers being their horses here for a walk so you’ll find horse manure during your hike. Biff from back to the future will stay away ha!
Plenty of open space for outdoor activities and the sand in he volleyball area is kind of lame due to the sticks and leaves from the tall trees that surround the area. I love running here for a short but steep trail hike/​run! The view once you have reached the top is amazing! There’s a couple if benches for one to sit down and take in the view. You’ll see the dam and cars driving on San Pablo damn road. Make you you plan ahead of time if you do decide to host a BBQ here.

I love taking my dogs here. Variety of trails with different scenery & levels of difficulty.

The place is beautiful. Paradise. So why the 1 star. TICKS! Place is full of ticks. I took my dogs there this morning. Few hours later upon returning to the truck I began to brush them. Brush picked up tons of ticks. I saw all the ticks. I have a Husky that loves to hunt so he goes off the beaten path. I brushed off like 20 plus ticks from him and had to pull 4 off him. My German Shepard had less but still had close to a dozen on her. If you have dogs that go off the beaten path stay away from this place. Without dogs stay on the path and enjoy the views. Hope this helps. If I would have read such a posting I never would have visited the park with my dogs. Thanks for reading.

Free parking and no dog fees until April 2014! The hiking trail is moderately difficult as it can be hilly and not much shade. However decent view at the peak. The picnic area is size able for parties and BBQs, plus flat and grassy! Another plus is the clean bathrooms!

Nice lawn and picnic areas, plus hiking trails that take you to the top of the hill overlooking San Pablo Dam and other parts of Richmond. The trees are tall and lovely. On weekends and holidays between April and October, it’s $ 5 for parking.

We could not be more pleased with this park. They are great partners in planning events from directing cars to ensuring bathrooms are clean and all trash is cleared. The sun, natural shade, picnic table and parking make it our company go –to spot for picnics.

This place is amazing for picnics & events. I think its much better to have a party here instead of Tilden. This place has no high hills to get to the place, which leads to not being a chilly area. Also, because its inland, of course it would be less chilly. This place has a play ground for kids & it looks more like a park. The bad thing about this place is that you have to pay $ 5 for parking, but at least its good for the whole day. I will definitely consider having parties here, especially for the Spring & Summer times.

What a treat to live so close to this park. I hike here almost every day with my dog and it’s amazing what diversity there is. I prefer to walk in the hills and enjoy the changes in the landscape while others prefer the lawn next to the parking lot. The park has Bbq’s around what is great for little parties or other events.

It’s the forrest! It’s lovely! And it’s just down the road! Check it out. Well used, but not crowded, with friendly people to say hello to. It’s beautiful!

This park is really fun in terms of a spacious grassy lawn, trails to hike, picnic areas, and volleyball courts. There’s one smaller park with a jungle gym for the little ones. I really like coming here after work for a brief shaded run. It’s beautifully quiet here (no speakers allowed). The eucalyptus trees provide a beautiful, fragrant shade as you run. (It can be pretty chilly in the morning.) The wind sounds beautiful as it rustles through the upper branches and leaves of the trees. I believe the paved trail is something like .3 miles. There are a few bathrooms on-​site, too. Be wary of the yellow jackets that hang around the garbage cans during the summer. They are not afraid to sting you or your little ones!

Right at the base of San Pablo Dam, Kennedy Grove is a really nice spot for a family picnic. There are big expanses of manicured green lawn to play on, which is great for playing games with the little ones, and the setting is one of a very peaceful ‘old school’ park. There are also lots of perfect spots for a picnic, so you don’t have to worry about getting your own.
This 222-​acre park doesn’t offer much in the way of hiking trails, but if you’re looking to really stretch your legs it’s a nice hike from here to San Pablo Reservoir (
), and around to the SPR parking lot. Also, since you have to pay to park at either place it’s kind of like a two-​for-​one bargain — ya gotta love that!
Not only is this a nice park for rambunctious kids, it’s also a great park for those with handicaps (good parking and access). From the Kennedy Grove Park authorities): «There are accessible paths leading from the parking lots into the main grove. Many of our sites can be accessed from the Kennedy Loop Trail which circumnavigates the main lawn (approximately .3 mile) and is a paved level surface. The Hitching Post picnic site has picnic tables which have been modified to accommodate wheelchairs. The Whistle Stop and Abbie Lane picnic sites have ADA approved drinking fountains installed. The Fern Cottage reservable facility has a wheelchair ramp up to the building and includes wheelchair accessible bathrooms. Certain unpaved trails such as the Laurel Loop trail (approximately .53 mile) have minimal elevation gain and loss.»
So, Kennedy Grove is great for the whole family — no matter what your age or physical condition.
See you at Kennedy Grove, and don’t forget the frisbee!

Kennedy Grove is another place we like to go to for walks/​hikes. this large park in El Sobrante also has many trails to follow just like Point Pinole. it too has beautiful scenery with tall trees, flowers, and the greenest and cleanest grass i’ve seen. they also have a large open grassy area for picnics and social gatherings. that’s where the greenest cleanest grass lives.
the only difference is that it’s not on the water like Point Pinole, so you don’t have those kind of views. but you do have plenty of pretty hillside scenery to look at. i like the trails here better because a lot have inclines and declines, whereas Point Pinole is mostly flat.
4 stars due to possible dangerous wildlife: little lizards and rabbits not so dangerous. but possibly mountain lions? yikes. and my boyfriend saw a rattlesnake! TWICE! that hasn’t stopped us, but just keep that eye out.

Clean, beautiful, spacious kinda park.
The rangers keep the park looking nice and clean all day. You can see them driving around making their routines. We had a BBQ on the Orlinda Station. In order to reserve you have to make a deposit. The picnic area was very big with plenty of tables. In the Orlinda Station, you can play horseshoe (you have to make a deposit to rent it out) and a volleyball court. In the middle of the park there is a big open field perfect for games. Bathrooms are kept up nicely. Plus, you can be super loud and you won’t be disturbing anyone!
Cons: Parking does cost 5 dollars. There are huge trees that surround the park and picnic areas. You might get attacked by branches or leaves when sitting. It gets windy and cold fast.