Thousand Oaks

Thousand Oaks is the Berkeley neighborhood that stretches out north of Solano Avenue by the Sutter Street tunnel. Thousand Oaks is one of those little discussed neighborhoods that residents love and that most everyone else has never really heard of. The name adds a further level of anonymity since listeners are bound to reference the much larger San Fernando Valley neighborhood in So Cal when hearing the name. Thousands Oaks, however, is certainly deserving of much more attention than it has gotten to this point.

On its southern end, where Solano Blvd. forms its southern border, Thousand Oaks has one of the best little shopping areas in the entire East Bay—an area that has remained virtually free of the homeless hassles that taint some of Berkeley’s central areas. In fact, Thousand Oaks tends to trend older than other sections of Berkeley, having fewer students and more married professionals. On weekends, this is evident at the gourmet restaurants and odd ball boutiques that make up Solano, where you are likely to spot as many strollers as cars.

The homes in this area most resemble, perhaps, those of the Claremont area to the south of the Berkeley campus. There are wide lanes with large collections of larger pre-War manors in some areas while smaller bungalows and Craftsman style homes dominate the lower areas near Solano Blvd. But this only scratches the surface—architectural buffs will find more than enough variety to fill their scrap books—high roofed Tudor manors, squat Craftsmans, the gambrelled roofs of Colonials, the stately balance of Georgians. The geography of the neighborhood, however, is much more like that of the neighboring Berkeley Hills which adds even more of an aesthetic appeal to the area. Prices, of course, follow this level of variety and beauty. So don’t expect to find too many deals here.

There are also several natural features and human-made adaptations to these features that add even more diversity and interest to the neighborhood. One of these features is the traffic circle like the one over the tunnel at the edge of the neighborhood. It helps to redirect traffic along Marin, and works somewhat like the knot in a tree or a whirlpool. There are also a series of natural features like the climbing rocks of the Great Stone Face Park, one of the very cool local parks in this part of the city and the encroachment of hilly forested area that marks the border with Arlington to the north.

You will also find the beautiful Indian Trail on the northern end, one of the truly great places to take a walk in Berkeley. Leafy and usually cooled by the sea breezes, the trail takes you up on stone lined path.

Overall, this is one of the best residential neighborhoods not only in Berkeley but perhaps in all of the East Bay.