Destination: Lake Merritt, Oakland
Walk around Lake Merritt, visit Children's Fairyland, and tour the Oakland Museum
This is part of a series of family-oriented day trip outings around the San Francisco Bay Area I look forward to enjoying with my kids once social distancing and shelter in place isn’t the norm any longer.
Lake Merritt
Social Isolation — Day 24
The news has been talking about what life will be like once our shelter in place will be over, people are ready to look forward to what’s next. The reality that life won’t return to the way it was previously until we have a working vaccine, and that’s still a long way off.
Will there be future shelter in place orders? Will my kids have to wear masks to go to school? Will there be a test to certify that a person has survived the virus and is now immune? Will an employee who is a certified survivor be worth more as a commodity?
It’s a struggle to watch our leadership flounder and contrast it with other leaders from around the world, or even governors of various states who are taking bold actions.
Destination: Lake Merritt, Oakland
Walk around Lake Merritt
Visit Children’s Fairyland
Tour the Oakland Museum
Walk around Lake Merritt
Lake Merritt is technically a tidal lagoon, slightly east of Downtown Oakland. You can stroll the 3.4-mile path around the lake, popular with locals. Along with Children’s Fairyland adjacent to the lake and the Oakland Museum a short walk away, you can rent a boat to go out on the lake or stop for a bite to eat at the Lake Chalet (owned by the same group that runs the Beach Chalet and Park Chalet in San Francisco). The lake is a delightful place for a stroll.
Visit Children’s Fairyland
Before Disneyland, we had Fairyland, opening in 1950. Children's parks at the time were modest, maybe with a pony ride and cotton candy stand. Oakland businessman Arther Navlet set out to create something new. He wanted to make a storybook theme park featuring gardens, storybook sets, and farm animals. Walt Disney came here for inspiration before creating his Magic Kingdom in 1955. The park strives to create a place for children to create, imagine, play, and learn.
Tour the Oakland Museum
Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) was founded in 1969 to bring together a multidisciplinary approach featuring art, history, and natural science. Your visit to the museum can enjoy all three areas or easily spend time in just one. The museum is filled with remarkable works of art and great hands-on exhibits, and you can easily spend a whole day here. They also have an active social calendar with events like Family Friday Nights, or First Sundays for Families.
Cody Tolmasoff is an author and publisher for Adventuring.in. He is a recovering programmer and a San Francisco native, raising two daughters, and regularly finding new adventures around the SF Bay Area. This article is an excerpt from an upcoming book, 52 San Francisco Bay Area Weekend Adventures, Day Trips With Your Kids!
Find him on Twitter @codyo, and read his most recent title Adventures in Getting Out on Amazon, filled with advice on successfully getting your family out for day trip adventures.
Originally published on Medium on 6 April 2020