City Stables

City Stables is being reopened and newly managed PROPERLY. This will give Oaklanders a new Parks and Rec Equestrian experience. The rules are changing though and this will mean it will not be an Oakland Park that allows dogs except for working service dogs.
The trade off for the neighborhood is that now this will be a cared for property that will improve their neighborhood greatly. There will be people on site 24 – 7 who will be turning the site into the beautiful park it should be.
Visit often and support OPR Horses!

The City of Oakland Stables, is, to my knowledge, closed due to lack of funding. I checked it out today as a possible place to walk my dogs. So, for this very limited usage, here’s my review:
Buildings, including wooden stables are boarded up, stalls and rings are empty, but the bathrooms are fully stocked and unlocked, which is a luxurious amenity when you’re out hiking around.
I only saw one other woman when I was there today. She had her dog on leash (which they’re supposed to be on City of Oakland parks) and she walks him there because he’s reactive to other dogs. This would be a great place to walk a reactive dog (one who needs to be walked on leash away from other dogs,) since it’s little used and one is unlikely to encounter other dogs, and it’s green and beautiful. There aren’t too many spots to walk a dog who needs a lot of space where you won’t find many other park users.
For me, (I own three dogs, two of whom I often walk off leash,) this place is a little too small to be very usable. (I don’t know how many acres it is, but fewer than 10 is my guess, so I had to work hard today to spend 45 minutes exploring it!)
Some of the land is open to neighbor’s yards, so it’s really not considerate or practical to have dogs off leash. I came upon a neighbor’s yard that had pigs in it!
It’s a lovely spot and I hope the city figures out something good to do with it. I heard from someone that there are horses there in the summer – maybe the camp still operates even though the stables are closed?

A special place to experience a little bit of horsemanship and nature in Oakland. Do support its use.

Affordable horseback riding day camp in the Oakland hills! Oakland Parks and Recreation Department, in partnership with In the Winner’s Circle Horsemanship, offer weeklong half-​day sessions (choose morning or afternoon) at beautiful City Stables., Through August 19. Ages 6 — 17. $ 250 per session. Sign up in person at Montclair Recreation Center. For information, contact Mark Zinns at 482‑7812.