Hello, I'm looking for a park where I could organize a picnic with BBQ for a company of 8-10 adults and 3-5 kids. Could anyone recommend a decent place, not too crowded, with BBQ and bathrooms, somewhere in Berkeley or its neighbourhood (El Cerrito, Albany, Kensington)? Do you need to make a reservation to have a picnic?
You technically don't have to have a reservation, but if someone else does make a reservation, then your group could be left without a picnic table or BBQ. For example all the picnic/bbq areas at Arlington Park are often reserved on weekends.
Tilden Park has a lot of picnic areas both large and small, with BBQ grills and either their own bathroom, or they are nearby. You can reserve the big ones (35 people and up) ahead of time to ensure you get the spot you want. Or just arrive early and stake out your spot. http://www.ebparks.org/activities/picnics
We just had a really nice birthday party at Lake Temescal and we reserved the spot in advance online. Most of them are close to the parking lots, have grassy open space for running around, and are close to drinking fountains and toilets. You can use the same link as the comment for Tilden Park and the website shows a picture of each of the picnic sites.
