Oakland Warnings or Dangers

As others have mentioned, many of the murders in Oakland are gang or drug related. You're probably not going to run into these problems as a tourist since there isn't much that you'd probably go to or want to see in the neighborhoods in which gangs and drugs are heavy, except for maybe near Oakland Coliseum or some place like that.

Generally the closer you get to the Bay (and away from the hills) the worse the neighborhood is likely to be. The exception to this rule might be Emeryville and Jack London Square which are big shopping areas on the Bay.

Even if you stay out of the bad areas, you have a chance of getting robbed or mugged in other areas at night, especially if you're on foot alone, and especially if there aren't other people around or much foot or car traffic coming by. Muggings and robberies even happen in some of the areas where the neighborhoods themselves are ok, but people looking to cause trouble come through looking for easy targets.

The Temescal area of Oakland (40th St to 51st St North & South and Telegraph to Broadway East to West) has a number of funky businesses and places to eat Korean and other kinds of food and lots of hipster art school kids and young professionals living nearby. It's been an "up and coming area" for a while. It might possibly be a place you'd go and it's not a bad neighborhood itself, but there are a muggings in the area sometimes. These muggings seem to be from people coming from other parts of Oakland who are trying to cause trouble. I'd also be careful around the Oakland Technical High School which is on the Broadway side of Temescal since kids come from other areas of the city and some bring trouble with them.

Piedmont Avenue is generally somewhat safe, but there have been muggings around here when someone is by themselves after dark. Rockridge and Montclair are similarly nice and generally safe but have similar occasional problems.

Downtown and uptown Oakland isn't too bad during the day and generally isn't bad for going to restaurants or places at night as long as other people are around and you're there when it's not too deserted. Be careful here, but it's not either the best or worst part of town.

As a tourist you might visit or stay in a shopping or hotel area such as Emeryville or Jack London Square. From these neighborhoods (near the bay) it could be easy to go into a neighborhood like West Oakland or North Oakland on your way out (or by mistake). If you're staying in Emeryville or Jack London I would drive a car through the less good neighborhoods in between these neighborhoods and other parts of Oakland. If you're trying to get to MacArthur BART from Emeryville take the Emery-go-round shuttle or a bus after dark rather than walking, even though the walk is probably only about 20 minutes.

I'd avoid walking alone near Lake Merritt after dark because of muggings. There are other areas you might go to such as Lakeshore and Grand which aren't bad but have crime that comes through.

Essentially, stay away from the really bad neighborhoods in Oakland as much as you can. These are are usually near the bay (aside from Emeryville and Jack London Square) and avoid walking alone in deserted areas by yourself after nightfall in the "in between" areas. Even in the richer neighborhoods near the hills there can be some crime but it's not as likely.

Oakland Hotels

Oakland Warnings or Dangers

Visiting Oakland?

Visiting Oakland?

Oakland Hotels