Indian Rock Park

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The view from Indian Rock
The view from Indian Rock

Indian Rock Park is a public park in the city of Berkeley, California. It is located in the northeast part of the city near the Arlington/Marin Circle. The park mainly consists of a large rock outcropping on the slope of the Berkeley Hills. The top of the outcropping commands a spectacular view of Berkeley and San Francisco Bay. The rock is rhyolite, volcanic in origin. It is one of a number of similar outcroppings in the vicinity.

There are the remains of acorn-grinding pits in the rocks left by the local indigenous people, the Huichin band of the Ohlones.

Indian Rock is often used to practice rockclimbing. Dick Leonard, the “father of modern rock climbing,” and noted environmentalist David Brower, founder of Friends of the Earth, learned rock climbing and developed their mountaineering techniques at Indian Rock Park. Brower used this special knowledge to prepare training manuals during World War II.

A public walkway, Indian Rock Path, connects the park to the intersection of Solano Avenue and The Alameda.