Residents encouraged to get into nature day after Thanksgiving
The East Bay Regional Park District has made the day after Thanksgiving (Nov. 24) its annual free park entrance day, Green Friday as the Park District calls it, to encourage residents to connect with nature and spend quality time with their family at a Regional Park. All of the Park District’s parks will be participating. Entrance fees at the District’s Ardenwood Historic Farm will also be waived.
“The Park District is happy to join the Opt Outside movement encouraging people to visit parks and spend quality time with their family,” said East Bay Regional Park District General Manager Robert Doyle. “Getting outside into nature improves health and decreases stress levels.
“Hiking is a terrific way to explore the beautiful East Bay hills and shoreline on Green Friday,” added Doyle.
The Park District’s Green Friday is part of the Opt Outside movement started in 2015 by REI when they closed their stores on Black Friday and encouraged employees and the public to explore the outdoors instead of shopping. More than 1.4 million people and 180 organizations participate in Opt Outside each year. 2017 marks the third year the District has participated in the national Opt Outside campaign.
On Green Friday, fees will be waved for park entrance, parking, dogs, horses, boat launching, and fishing. However, fees for state fishing licenses and watercraft inspection, and concessionaires will still be in effect, including Tilden’s Merry-Go-Round and Redwood Valley Railway Train.
“Regional Parks provide local residents with recreational opportunities that are safe, healthy and inexpensive,” said East Bay Regional Park District Chief of Park Operations Steve Castile. “Green Friday makes them even more affordable.”
Special events on Green Friday include a Turkey Hike from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm at Redwood Regional Park in Oakland (Skyline Gate), and Post-Thanksgiving Holiday Fun Day running from 10:00 am to 3:30 pm at Crab Cove Visitor Center in Alameda.
A few recommended hikes in the East Bay Regional Park District are:
- Stream Trail, Bishop Ranch Regional Preserve, San Ramon
- Camp Ohlone Trail, Sunol Regional Wilderness, Sunol
- Stage Road Trail, Diablo Foothills Regional Park, Alamo
- Mollock Trail, Morgan Territory Regional Preserve, Tassajara
- Nortonville Trail, Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve, Antioch
- Stream Trail, Redwood Regional Park, Oakland
- Bayview Trail, Coyote Hills Regional Park, Fremont
- Nimitz Way Trail, Tilden and Wildcat Canyon regional parks, Berkeley and Richmond
- Westside Loop Trail, Brushy Peak Regional Preserve, Livermore
The East Bay Regional Park District is a system of beautiful public parks and trails in Alameda and Contra Costa counties east of San Francisco Bay, established in 1934. The system comprises 121,000 acres in 73 parks including over1,250 miles of trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding and nature learning.
