Ye Olde School Path

Difficulty:  Easy to Hard based on which route option taken

Time: ½ hour to 2 hours based on route option

 

There are 3 hikes in this post, varying on where you start and where you end.  The LONG HIKE takes about 2 hours, The MEDIUM HIKE about 1 1/4 hours and the SHORT HIKE aboutn 1/2 hour.  I indicate starting and ending points for each of the 3 hikes.

For the LONG HIKE, start at Marin Ave and Hilldale Ave, heading north on Hilldale.  When you get to Grizzly Peak Blvd, turn left and head to the Summit Reservoir at the junction of Spruce and Grizzly.  For the MEDIUM HIKE and SHORT HIKE, you can start Spruce and Grizzly.  

Summit Reservoir

Continue north on Grizzly past the reservoir until you come to the end at Kenyon Ave.  This is the start of Ye Olde School Path.  Follow this scenic dirt path, with views of Tilden Park on your right, until it merges with Ye Olde School Trail.  Continue on the path until you reach Kensington Hilltop Elementary School.  NOTE:  For the SHORT HIKE, just go back on the path to the starting point at Spruce and Grizzly.   

Start of Ye Olde School Path

Tilden Park

Go left along the chain link fence at the edge of the school to the front at Highland Blvd.  Take Highland to Kenyon Ave and take Kenyon to Westminster Ave.  Turn right on Westminster and left on St. Albans Rd.  At the end of St Albans on the left side of the road take Public Path 6.  Take this unmarked dirt path back to Kenyon Ave.  

Public path 6

Turn right on Kenyon and right when you reach Wellesley Ave.  Turn left at Cambridge Ave and go to end of the block at Beloit Ave where you reach unmarked Public Path 9 on the right (west) side of the road.  

Public Path 9

Take this downhill (about 80 steps) to Stanford Ave and turn left.  At Yale Ave turn left and at Vassar Ave turn right.  Vassar is a long hilly up and down street.  Take it to the end at Spruce St. NOTE: For the MEDIUM HIKE you just turn left on Spruce and walk back to the starting point at Grizzly Peak.  For the LONG HIKE, continue below.

Turn right on Spruce and go around Dorothy Bolte Park until you get to Acacia Steps on the left (east) side of Spruce.  

Acacia Steps

Take this uphill (about 85 steps) to Cragmont Ave and turn right.  In a short distance you get to Acacia Walk.  

Acacia Walk

Take this downhill (about 35 steps plus dirt path) back to Spruce and turn left.  Shortly after passing Halkin Ln, you get to Altavista Path on the right (west) side of the street.  

Altavista Path

Altavista Path

This has a special meaning to me since I used to work at Alta Vista, one of the original search engines before Google and Bing.  Take Alta Vista Path downhill (95 steps) to Santa Barbara Rd and turn left.  At Montrose turn left, taking you back to Spruce.  Turn right at Spruce and at Regal Rd turn left, taking you to Cragmont.  Turn left on Cragmont and then right on Rock Ln.  When you come to Rock Walk on the right, take it uphill (30 steps) to Euclid Ave. 

Rock Walk

Turn left on Euclid and turn right on Poplar St.  When it ends at Hilldale turn right.  Take Hilldale back to the starting point at Marin.