Grizzly Peak is a summit in the

Berkeley Hills The Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges, and overlook the northeast side of the valley that encompasses San Francisco Bay. They were previously called the "Contra Costa Range/Hills" (from the original Spanish ''Sierra de la Co ...

above

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

. The peak is located on the border between

Alameda An alameda is a street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada * Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan ** Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile * Alameda (Santi ...

and Contra Costa counties, within the boundaries of

Tilden Regional Park Charles Lee Tilden Regional Park, also known as Tilden Park or Tilden, [], is a regional park in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area in California. It is between the Berkeley Hills and San Pablo R ...

, and directly behind the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

campus. The peak was named for the California

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...

which inhabited the local area until the late 1800s. The last sighting locally was by a man who was reportedly killed by a grizzly in Strawberry Canyon below Grizzly Peak in the 1860s. The first local killing of a grizzly by a European occurred in 1772, also along

Strawberry Creek Strawberry Creek is the principal watercourse running through the city of Berkeley, California. Two forks rise in the Berkeley Hills of the California Coast Ranges, and form a confluence at the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. T ...

just west of the location of the modern UC Berkeley campus within downtown Berkeley. The shooting by Spanish soldiers was recorded by Father Juan Crespi. The last grizzly in all of California was killed in the Sierra foothills east of Fresno in August 1922. Grizzly Peak became more accessible in 1932 when Grizzly Peak Boulevard was constructed along the ridge line of the Berkeley Hills. The name was extended to the previously constructed ridge line stretch of Euclid Avenue to the north shortly thereafter. This portion was and remains a residential area of Berkeley while the original stretch is largely undeveloped. Grizzly Peak Boulevard extends from Kenyon Avenue in Kensington in the north, through Berkeley and Oakland to an intersection with Skyline Blvd. above Oakland to the south. Before Grizzly Peak Boulevard was constructed, the location of its intersection with Claremont (before 1892 known as Telegraph Road) and Fish Ranch Road was historically an important pass through the Berkeley Hills, before the tunnel that preceded

Caldecott Tunnel The Caldecott Tunnel is a four-bore highway tunnel through the Berkeley Hills between Oakland and Orinda, California. Its four bores carry California State Route 24. Named after Thomas E. Caldecott, former mayor of Berkeley, it opened in ...

was constructed through the hills in 1903; an inn and

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

stop called the Summit House was located here. Grizzly Peak is a popular location for people to get a unique view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the surrounding Bay Area. It is also common to see

street luge Street luge is an extreme gravity-powered activity that involves riding a street luge board (sometimes referred to as a sled) down a paved road or course. Street luge is also known as land luge or road luge. Like skateboarding, street luge is o ...

enthusiasts in this area and down the canyon into Berkeley from Skyline Boulevard and Claremont Avenue.

References

External links

* * Berkeley Hills Mountains of Alameda County, California Geography of Oakland, California Mountains of Contra Costa County, California Grizzly bears Mountains of the San Francisco Bay Area Mountains of Northern California {{AlamedaCountyCA-geo-stub

See also

References

External links