Friends of Montclair Library

Stairs from Gaspar Road to the Village. Photo by Deidre Joyner of The Oakland Berkeley Journal.

My household has been working its way through the walks in Charles Fleming’s Secret Stairs East Bay: A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Berkeley and Oakland over the past year or so, and we finally got around to trying Walk #32: Montclair Village, which includes a shout-out to “the charming structure at 1687 — the storybook, slate-roofed Montclair branch of the public library.” This walk, exploring the hidden stairways of Montclair (read: lots of steps) would be a great way to shake your tail feathers after Thanksgiving dinner, or to fill those long, empty hours while the library is closed for Thanksgiving this Thursday 11/28 and Friday 11/29.

The book is also available for check-out as an e-book through the OPL website — and, bonus, e-books can be checked out 24/7, even when the library is closed.

If you find yourself addicted to exploring off-the-beaten-path paths, Stephen Altschuler’s Hidden Walks in the East Bay & Marin: Pathways, Essays, & Yesterdays (available at Dimond, Piedmont and Temescal) is another great resource.