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East Bay Livin

Berkeley & the north hills · Contra Costa County

Kensington

Kensington is unincorporated, residential, and folded into the hills above Arlington Avenue. People choose it for the quiet and the trees, then use Berkeley and El Cerrito for everything else.

There is a small commercial knot and a well-loved local feel, not a destination downtown. Streets climb. Fog and views trade places with the weather. It reads as a neighborhood that happens to have its own name and its own civic district.

Commuters drop down to El Cerrito Plaza BART or toward Berkeley. If you need a flat bike ride and a late kitchen, this is the wrong hill. If you want houses, canopy, and a short drive to Solano or North Berkeley, it fits.

Known for

  • Hill streets
  • Arlington Avenue
  • A quiet residential scale

Getting around

No BART station in Kensington. El Cerrito Plaza is the usual train. Most errands are a drive down to Berkeley, Albany, or El Cerrito.

Nearby