Would you park your Boxter in Berkeley, CA?
 

Especially in Claremont resort. I have no idea what kind of neighborhood that resort is in and whether it would be particularly risky to park Boxter overnight for 3 nights.

Also, any restuarant suggestion in Berkeley (that will require some winding, top down driving) would be appreciated.

kskimtahoe

I wouldn't!

Sorry!

I'd agree with Bruce in that you could probably do a little better than parking right in Berkeley. However, it sounds like you'll be in the Rockridge/Claremont area where I'd say you're absolutely OK, as that area is fairly upscale (retired professors, SF professionals, that sort of thing). Rockridge/Claremont borders Berkeley and is about five miles from campus (the "bad" part of town).

Also remember that BART runs right through there, so if you need to park a little bit away from where you're staying you could actually park at or near a BART station, which would be no worse than the street, in my mind (depending on which station). The BART station in Rockridge is on the main shopping thoroughfare and might be a good choice

East Bay doesn't have that many great driving roads around Berkeley plus there's alot of traffic. If you don't want to venture too far from Claremont you may want to drive down to Berkeley Marina. They have a nice restaurant facing SF, with a promenade to walk on.

If you're staying at the Claremont Hotel, you should have no problem with parking (or even if you're not, you could inquire about paying to park in their lot).

The best driving might be along the top of the hills behind the Claremont Hotel -- the road is called Grizzly Peak. Take Claremont Avenue up into the hills. At the top, turn left onto Grizzly Peak Boulevard and drive as far as you want. Go back down the way you came up.