Albany Hill

There are several ways to get to the Madison Street entrance, at the end of Madison Street in Albany both on mass transit and driving. El Cerrito Plaza BART is about a 20 minute walk to El Cerrito's Creekside Park on the north side of Albany Hill.
Meet in the meadow just above Middle Creek, a tributary of Cerrito Creek on the northeast side of the hill. For the ambitious, the trail uphill to the top starts in the live oak grove above the meadow. There are over 100 plant species on the hill, plus butterflies, birds, and walkers.
Sketching stools are fine near the paths, but you cannot use the Ohlone grindstone. Everywhere else in the meadow is fair game for stools, towels, or cushions, but try to pack any used brush water to a garbage can near the park entrance.

You can find the city's field guide to Albany Hill public open space if you go to www.albanyca.gov/Residents/Parks-Open-Space-Albany-Hill.
Bring water, and be prepared to pack used water to the nearest trash can at the Madison Street entrance. The only water on Albany side of park is undrinkable creek water, but the Pacific East Mall next to the north side of the hill has a bathroom and sells drinks.

Peets Coffee is at the corner of Carlson & San Pablo Ave. at the northeast foot of the hill. If you're driving from the north the Peets sign is a prompt to get in the right lane to turn right and uphill at Clay St. Go uphill on Clay & Madison streets, where you can turn right onto Madison and look for free and scarce street parking. The park entrance is at the end of that block of Madison Street. AC Transit # 72 bus stops on San Pablo Ave at Clay Street; from that corner, follow the driving directions.