Maps and Directions to 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 north side of Center Street at its intersection with Shattuck Avenue. 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 https://secure.transitstore.com/bart/
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 find the shuttle bus stop marked for Berkeley Lab. It is on Center Street, slightly west (towards the Bay) of the intersection of Shattuck Avenue and Center Street, around the corner of the Wells Fargo bank and next to a row of automatic teller machines. Wait for a marked Laboratory shuttle bus which will bring you directly to Berkeley Lab (see the directions for using our shuttle. More information about BART, including an interactive map of the system and its schedules, is available on the Web.

San Francisco Airport to the Lab by Commercial Shuttle Bus

A number of shuttle van companies provide service from the San Francisco airport. Some travel directly to your particular point of destination. Others drop off their passengers at central points in the East Bay. The airport website has more specific information on "ground transport."

San Francisco to the Lab by BART

Much easier than traveling by car. Allow yourself 50 minutes for the entire trip from downtown San Francisco. Go to any of the BART stations. Purchase a ticket for $6.10 (the cost of a round-trip between downtown SF and Berkeley as of March, 2005). Get on the Richmond line. Take the Richmond line to the downtown Berkeley exit -- not the North Berkeley exit, and not the Ashby exit, just the Berkeley exit. Get off at the Berkeley exit, go up to the street level, and find our shuttle bus stop. It is on the north side of Center Street at its intersection with Shattuck Avenue next to the bank automatic teller machine. You can then take the shuttle bus to the Lab; see the directions for using our shuttle.

More information about BART, including an interactive map of the system and its schedules, is available on the Web.

Downtown San Francisco to the Lab by Car

(See the two maps at the top of this file). Find an on-ramp to I-80 going east (toward East Bay or Oakland). Cross the Bay Bridge, staying in left lanes and follow I-80 towards Berkeley and Sacramento. About four miles after crossing the bridge, take the University Avenue exit on your right, and take the left-hand branch of the exit 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 north side of Center Street at its intersection with Shattuck Avenue. Travel time is an hour or more.

Oakland International Airport to the Lab by Car

(See the two maps at the top of this file). 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 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 north side of Center Street at its intersection with Shattuck Avenue. Travel time requires at least 35 minutes.

Oakland International Airport to the Lab by Commercial Shuttle

A number of private firms provide shuttle service from the Oakland International Airport. More information is available here.

Oakland International Airport to the Lab By BART

A special shuttle bus, the Oakland-AirBART shuttle, 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 Berkeley exit -- not the North Berkeley exit, and not the Ashby exit, just the Berkeley exit. Get off at the Berkeley exit, go up to the street level, and find the Lab's shuttle bus stop. It is on the north side of Center Street at its intersection with Shattuck Avenue next to the bank automatic teller machine. You can then take our shuttle bus to the Lab. See the directions for using our shuttle.

More information about BART, including an interactive map of the system and its schedules, is available on the Web.

BART to Berkeley

Get on the Richmond line. Take the Richmond line to the downtown Berkeley exit -- not the North Berkeley exit, and not the Ashby exit, just the Berkeley exit. Get off at the Berkeley exit, go up to the street level, and find the Lab's shuttle bus stop. It is on the north side of Center Street at its intersection with Shattuck Avenue next to the bank automatic teller machine. You can then take the shuttle bus to the Lab; see the directions for using the Lab's shuttle.

More information about BART, including an interactive map of the system and its schedules, is available on the Web.

The Lab's Shuttle Bus

The Laboratory provides onsite shuttle service (see the map and schedule of the on-site shuttle service) for its 130-acre site in the Berkeley Hills as well as off-site service from the Lab to nearby areas.

On weekdays, the Lab provides free off-site shuttle service for visitors and employees alike. The principal off-site shuttle operates from 6:30 a.m. to 6:50 p.m. Buses run every ten minutes up until 5:50 p.m. when they run at 20 minute intervals. For details, see the map and schedule of the off-site shuttle service.

The off-site shuttle service starts at the main Lab shuttle bus stop at Building 65, and travels along the perimeter of the University of California at Berkeley campus to the Berkeley BART station, and back to the Lab. Another off-site shuttle provides express service to and from the Rockridge BART station at select commute hours.

You can be picked up by the shuttle at any of the designated stops, where you'll find a sign indicating a Berkeley Lab bus stop. A useful stop for many people is the one in front of the Berkeley BART station, which is located on Center Street at the northwest corner of Shattuck Avenue and Center Street. Just get onto the shuttle like everyone else: If the driver asks you for identification, just say that you are a guest of a Lab activity. Once at the Lab, the shuttle stops at the main Lab shuttle bus stop at Building 65, where you can catch an onsite bus to anywhere at the Lab.

Directions to Bldg. 941 From the Joint Genome Institute (JGI)

Building 941 is at the southeast corner of Center and Milvia, one block west of Shattuck Ave. and two blocks south of University Ave. Parking is available at the parking garage on Addison St. and other nearby locations.

Driving directions from Walnut Creek: