BURCKHALTER PARK

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA

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Burckhalter Park is named for Charles Burckhalter, an astronomer and early director of Oakland’s Chabot Observatory. Under Burckhalter’s leadership, Chabot Observatory was moved from its initial downtown location on Lafayette Square to Mountain Boulevard in an effort to escape increasing light pollution. Today, Burckhalter’s namesake park is a quiet neighborhood gem adjacent to 580 that serves the Eastmont Hills and surrounding community.

Park Activities

Most of Burckhalter Park’s grounds are not visible from the small parking lot near its entrance, which may explain why the park is usually uncrowded. Visitors who venture forward, however, are rewarded with terrific amenities including a baseball diamond, basketball and tennis courts and a great playground that was built by the community in 2014. A cute outdoor classroom, complete with benches and a chalkboard, sits at the back of the park. Reviewers call this a family-friendly space, saying that Burckhalter Park is a “good quiet place to take the kids” and “a perfect little park for running around” with an “awesome playground” and “clean restrooms.”