UC Berkeley Campus Walk
Photo: Simon Cobb, CC0 (cropped)
Welcome to UC Berkeley, the oldest campus of the University of California. Chartered in 1868, the university moved to these oak-studded slopes along Strawberry Creek in 1873. Long before that, this was Huichin, the homeland of Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone people, who camped and fished along the creek.
This walking loop visits eleven stops: Sproul Plaza and Sather Gate, Strawberry Creek, the Valley Life Sciences Building, Memorial Glade, Doe Library, South Hall, Sather Tower, the Hearst Mining Building, Gilman Hall, the Hearst Greek Theatre and Faculty Glade. Along the way you will meet the students of the Free Speech Movement, Nobel Prize winners and the scientists who added new elements to the periodic table.
Plan on about an hour and forty minutes, with roughly three kilometers (just under two miles) of walking. The campus climbs toward the hills, so expect some gentle slopes and a few stairs. Start at Sproul Plaza, just inside Sather Gate off Telegraph Avenue and Bancroft Way. Downtown Berkeley BART is about a ten-minute walk away.
11 stops on this tour:
Sproul Plaza and Sather Gate - Birthplace of Free Speech
Strawberry Creek - The Water That Chose the Campus
Valley Life Sciences Building - A T. rex Indoors
Memorial Glade - The Campus Front Lawn
Doe Memorial Library - A Palace for Books
South Hall - The Oldest Survivor
Sather Tower - The Campanile
Hearst Mining Building - A Monument to Mining
Gilman Hall - Where Plutonium Was Identified
Hearst Greek Theatre - An Ancient Stage in the Hills
Faculty Glade - Oaks, Creek and 4.0 Hill
Plan your visit
- Route: 11 stops · about 1.9 miles · walking loop
- Time: about 1.5 hours at an easy pace, with stops
- Start: Sproul Plaza and Sather Gate (directions)
- Cost: free tour
Stops on this tour
- Sproul Plaza and Sather Gate - Birthplace of Free Speech
- Strawberry Creek - The Water That Chose the Campus
- Valley Life Sciences Building - A T. rex Indoors
- Memorial Glade - The Campus Front Lawn
- Doe Memorial Library - A Palace for Books
- South Hall - The Oldest Survivor
- Sather Tower - The Campanile
- Hearst Mining Building - A Monument to Mining
- Gilman Hall - Where Plutonium Was Identified
- Hearst Greek Theatre - An Ancient Stage in the Hills
- Faculty Glade - Oaks, Creek and 4.0 Hill
More tours nearby
- Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (13 mi) - 1,017 acres of wonder - museums, gardens, bison, and windmills in the heart of SF!
- San Francisco Waterfront Tour (13 mi) - From the Golden Gate to the Ferry Building
- Fort Funston Historic & Scenic Tour (17 mi) - Coastal Defense History Meets Natural Beauty
- Muir Woods (17 mi) - Walk a two-mile loop through old-growth coast redwoods, from Founders Grove and Cathedral Grove to Fern Creek and back along Redwood Creek.