Parking During the Show

The City of Oakland manages the parking inside the park on performance nights, and there is a $5 fee for parking in the lots around the theater. You may park on Joaquin Miller Road for free, but be prepared to walk a considerable distance to the amphitheater.

Directions to the amphitheater are on our website, or just enter "Woodminster Amphitheater, Oakland" in your favorite mapping tool.

Parking inside Joaquin Miller Park
Enter the park at 3300 Joaquin Miller Road. You will see a sign and a yellow banner with the Woodminster shows. Follow the main park road uphill. You'll pass the rec center on your left, and then (on performance nights) you'll pay a $5 fee to a city employee. Bear left. There's a paved parking lot on your left, and a series of dirt lots on your left all the way down the hill. Disabled parking is in the lot directly across from the theater entrance.

Make sure you park legally! Some patrons have been ticketed for parking in places that may hinder others' egress.

Parking on Joaquin Miller Road
Shortly after you start uphill from Hwy 13, you'll see Joaquin Miller Park on your left. Features you'll notice are Joaquin Miller's white wooden house, a kiddie playground, and Robin Perry Field, a small softball field.

If you're coming uphill, make a legal u-turn after you see the ball field, and park along Joaquin Miller Road facing downhill. Walk into the park and you'll see a pool of water. Face uphill and you'll see a fountain, then cascades running from the back of the amphitheater downhill. Walk up the stone steps on the righthand side of the cascades. This is a short but somewhat strenuous walk; there are lots of places to stop and rest and enjoy the view along the way.

If you choose this route, bring a flashlight! It will be dark when you're descending the steps after the show, and the trees will filter the moonlight.

Once you reach the parking lot behind the amphitheater, you can either enter through the "lower gate" of the theater, or if you need to pick up your tickets, continue up one more short stretch of path to the "upper gate" and the performance night box office. (The backstage box office is open only 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. for presales.)

Amenities and What to Bring

There are bathrooms and snack bars inside the amphitheater. Coffee, hot chocolate, soft drinks, hot dogs, candy, popcorn, and cookies, and more are available for purchase.

We proudly serve Uncommon Grounds organic coffee exclusively in our refreshment stands.

You may also bring your own refreshments. There is no restriction on bringing food or beverages into the amphitheater.

What to Wear and Bring
When dressing for the Woodminster Summer Musicals, think "park," not "theatre." Comfortable shoes and clothes are recommended. Since Oakland summer evenings are sometimes chilly, even when the day has been very hot, we strongly suggest bringing jackets. Some of our patrons bring blankets.

Unlike many other outdoor theater venues, we do have seats, but they are not padded. Some people bring a cushion or blanket to sit on. We strongly suggest that you bring a flashlight for after the show, as it is a park setting without street lights.

Sometimes flashlights are left in the seats. If yours is marked with your last name and phone number, we will contact you if we find it.

Support Woodminster & Win Prizes!
The Woodminster Board of Directors sponsors a drawing at every performance. Please consider bringing a few dollars to spend on drawing tickets before the show. As you enter the theater, look for Board Members in funny hats or visit the WIN-WIN booth!

Winners are announced at the end of intermission at each performance. You can win season tickets to Woodminster, dinners in local restaurants, and much more! And you'll be helping to provide dollars that let us continue to offer quality family entertainment.

Picnic Dinners

One of the most popular ways to enjoy the Woodminster Amphitheater is to plan a picnic dinner before the show. Picnic tables are available throughout the park on a first come, first served basis, or groups can reserve picnic areas through the Oakland Parks & Recreation Department. You will probably want to arrive not later than 6:30 p.m. to have time for a leisurely picnic before the show starts (promptly) at 8:00 p.m., and adjust your time an hour earlier if you're attending one of the 7:00 p.m. performances in September.

For 8 p.m. performances, the house opens at 7 p.m.
Those with reserved inside- amphitheater picnic tables may
enter at 5:30.

For 7 p.m. performances (Sundays and 2nd weekend Thursdays in September only), the house opens at 6 p.m., and those with reserved picnic tables may enter at 4:30.

There are a few dozen picnic tables within the amphitheater itself which can be reserved through Producers Associates for a nominal charge of $10 per table, per night (to cover the cost of the gate keepers). Each person entering the amphitheater picnic area must have a ticket for that night's show, and restrictions apply in terms of the number of tickets you must purchase to reserve a table. These in-amphitheater picnic tables are not available for any reason before 5:30 p.m. on the night of the performance. Picnic table reservation form.

Note: These picnic tables are reserved early, and we expect all Saturday nights to be fully booked by season ticket renewal patrons by February 15.

For information about reserving picnic tables, call 510-531-9597, email harriet@woodminster.com, or click here for a pdf reservation form that can be printed and mailed. (Please note: Printable order forms are in Adobe® pdf format, which requires Adobe Acrobat® Reader® software, available as a free download from the Adobe website.)