Place to see: Middle Harbor Shoreline Park, Oakland, California, United States

About this place:

Opened in 2004, this park is at the edge of the Port of Oakland, and to get there you have to weave your way through all the trucks, trains and shipping companies. The view is worth the trip though, a big panorama of the Bay Bridge and downtown San Francisco as well as the Port. I was out there the day the Airbus a380 flew over with the Blue Angels, and it was totally deserted. Which is another plus, it's been nearly empty every time i've been there, though the picnic and grassy areas are really well maintained. It is a bird sanctuary though, (but remarkably, not for canada geese, unlike lake merritt.) so leave your dog at home.