Travel to Berkeley Lab
We highly encourage visitors to use public transportation when visiting the Lab.
The Laboratory is in Berkeley on the hillside directly above the campus of the University of California at Berkeley. Our address is 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley CA 94720.
To make the Lab easily accessible, the Lab has its own shuttle service that takes people around the site and to downtown Berkeley and the BART station there. Parking spaces are difficult to find here and you will need to prearrange for a parking permit from the person you are visiting.
San Francisco Airport to the Lab by Car
Take U.S. Route 101 North from the airport -- towards San Francisco. Keep going until the junction with I-80. Take I-80 east (toward East Bay or Oakland). Cross the Bay Bridge, staying in left lanes. After crossing the bridge, follow I-80 towards Berkeley and Sacramento. About four miles later, take the University Avenue exit on your right, and take the left-hand branch of the exit ramp onto University Avenue. Proceed up University Avenue for two miles until you reach Oxford Street. Go left on Oxford and then several blocks later, right on Hearst Avenue. Head straight up Hearst which, above the campus, climbs steeply and makes a horseshoe turn before arriving at the main gate at the Lab. Alternatively, you may enter the Lab via the Strawberry Gate (see map above).
Parking can be difficult to find here and you'll need to prearrange for a parking pass through the person you are visiting. As an alternative to driving here, you can park nearby in downtown Berkeley and take the Lab shuttle here. To do that, as you come into Berkeley eastbound on University Avenue, take a right onto Shattuck Avenue. Four blocks later, go right onto Kittredge Street where you'll find a parking garage at 2020 Kittredge. Our shuttle bus pickup is one block to the north, stopping on the east side of Shattuck Avenue near its intersection with Center Street. Travel time is somewhat over an hour.
San Francisco Airport to the Lab by BART
Easier than traveling by car and much less expensive than taxi cabs or commercial shuttles. Allow 60 minutes for the trip from SFO to the Downtown Berkeley BART stations. The cost of a one-way ticket (as of March, 2005) is $5.50. A roundtrip ticket is $11.00. Tickets may be purchased at the SFO BART station, or on-line.
At the SFO station, take the Pittsburg/Bay Point train to the 12th St. Oakland City Center station. Get off that train and take the Richmond train to the downtown Berkeley station.
Get off at the downtown Berkeley exit, go up the stairs to the street level and locate the Bank of America across the street (corner of Center and Shattuck). Head towards the bank and walk north on Shattuck towards the main bus stop area — the shuttle bus stop is marked for Berkeley Lab and is in front of the Sandwich Zone shop, just past the bank. Wait for a marked Laboratory shuttle bus which will bring you directly to Berkeley Lab (see the directions for using our shuttle. See other transit information here).
Oakland Airport to the Lab by Car
From the airport, take Hegenberger Road, following the signs along Hegenberger to I-880 northbound toward Oakland and Berkeley. On I-880, as you approach the skyline of downtown Oakland, get in one of the left hand lanes and take I-80 eastbound to Berkeley. About a mile later, I-80 splits left to I-80 West to the Bay Bridge and San Francisco, and right to I-80 East to Sacramento. Bear right onto I-80 East, which will take you to Berkeley.
About four miles later, take the University Avenue exit on your right, and take the left-hand branch of the exit ramp onto University Avenue. Proceed up University Avenue for two miles until you reach Oxford Street. Go left on Oxford and then several blocks later, right on Hearst Avenue. Head straight up Hearst which, above the campus, climbs steeply and makes a horseshoe turn before arriving at the main gate at the Lab. Alternatively, you may enter the Lab via the Strawberry Gate.
Oakland Airport to the Lab by BART
A special shuttle bus, the Oakalnd-AirBART shuttles, runs between the Oakland Airport and BART about every 10 minutes. Take it to BART where you get on a train on the Richmond line. Take the Richmond line to the downtown Berkely exit-- not North Berkeley exit, and not the Ashby exit, just the Berkeley exit.
