Inner East Bay

The inner East Bay is a dynamic stretch of urban fabric, rivaling San Francisco, its neighbor across the bay, for cultural and culinary diversity. Though it can be grittier than the outer East Bay on the other side of the Berkeley Hills, its extraordinary patchwork of cultures and history means you'll never run out of new things to discover in this often underappreciated part of the Bay Area.

Cities

There is no countryside between many of these cities. One city blends into the next in a continuous urban fabric stretching from Richmond to Fremont and beyond.

• 1 Alameda — a city on an island near Oakland; lively neighborhoods and lovely walks along the bay
• 2 Albany
• 3 Berkeley — city of about 100,000 people, long home to hippies and a world-class university.
• 4 Castro Valley — in the foothills of the Diablo Range; east of Hayward
• 5 El Cerrito
• 6 Emeryville – a suburb of Oakland that's home to Pixar, big chain stores, and a hub for Amtrak
• 7 Fremont — one of the largest cities in Alameda County, Fremont has more than 200,000 people, and also has a history going back more than 200 years
• 8 Hayward — city north of Fremont and south of Oakland near the San Francisco Bay
• 9 Newark — city on the San Francisco Bay near Fremont
• 10 Oakland — the largest city in Alameda County, with cultural and culinary diversity to rival San Francisco
• 11 Pinole – a small suburban town on San Pablo Bay
• 12 Richmond — World War II industrial history and nature parks with great views of the bay, plus the charming Point Richmond neighborhood
• 13 San Leandro — small city nestled between Hayward and Oakland
• 14 Union City — city between Fremont and Hayward

Other destinations

• 1 Don Edwards San Francisco Bay Wildlife Refuge (Fremont/Newark). (updated Aug 2018)

Understand

Climate

The area's climate is moderated by the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay. The coastal plain — which is home to Fremont, Hayward, Oakland, and Berkeley — receives fairly consistent temperatures year-round (with the exception of summer heatwaves). Snow is virtually unheard of.

There is a wet season and a dry season. The wet season peaks from the months of December to February, while rain is rare to impossible in summer months.

Get in

By BART

BART map

From San Francisco, the Peninsula, or the outer East Bay, you can use the BART rail system, which connects many of the Bay Area's cities. The trains go across San Francisco and then through a tunnel underneath the San Francisco Bay to get to Oakland.

By car

Entering the inner East Bay by car can be easy or difficult, depending on which road you take and at which time you take that road. Some major roads, particularly I-680 and I-580, often have traffic jams due to the great number of commuters that live in and around this region.

If you are entering from the south, the main route is through San Jose to Fremont. A couple freeways go this way: I-680 and I-880.

Finally, from the west, you will need to cross one of the toll bridges over the San Francisco Bay (mostly $7 as of 2022). You can take the Bay Bridge, which goes from San Francisco to Oakland via Yuerba Buena Island; the San Mateo–Hayward Bridge, which goes from San Mateo to Hayward right across the bay's middle section; or the Dumbarton Bridge, which is near the southern end of the bay.

By train

Amtrak serves a major station in Emeryville and also stops in Oakland and Richmond.

By plane

The main airport in this area the Oakland Airport (OAK ^IATA), but also nearby are the San Jose (SJC ^IATA) and San Francisco (SFO ^IATA) airports.

Get around

See also: Bay Area public transit

Public transit in this area is surprisingly decent by American standards, so if you're not going off the beaten path you may find that you're best off visiting without a car. That also allows you to avoid the bad traffic and unfortunate risk of car break-ins.

BART, the Bay Area's rapid transit system, is centered on this region, with every BART line going through it. AC Transit provides extensive bus service. There are only a few notable destinations without any transit service, mainly military history sites.

The region also has a strong biking culture, and new bike lanes are continually being added.

Eat

Since this is one of America's most racially diverse regions, almost any kind of cuisine can be found here.

Stay safe

Both traffic accidents and crime are concerns in this area.

Roads

There are several highway interchanges that are fairly difficult to navigate, and are therefore a hotspot for accidents, so be careful when driving through them. These include:

• I-80/I-580/I-880 in Oakland, known colloquially as "The Maze"
• I-880/I-238/Washington Ave in San Leandro

Crime

Be cautious exploring these cities during the night.

Richmond has high rates of homicide, robbery, assault, rape, carjacking, and other violent crimes, and visitors should exercise extra caution. Fire dangers at refineries in the county have on rare occasions caused alerts where residents were told to "shelter in place" and avoid unnecessary outdoors excursions due to the potential for hazardous fumes - if you hear a warning siren immediately check the news for instructions.

Go next

• Marin County
• Outer East Bay
• San Francisco
• Solano County
• South Bay