Dunsmuir Hellman Historic Estate

Gorgeous historic home and grounds open for tours. The house was built by Alexander Dunsmuir for his bride in 1899. The house was decorated beautifully for the holiday season and also had lots of holiday photo opportunities outside for children, as well as two bouncy houses. There was a high tea event available, tickets available online and had sold out by our arrival. Friendly and helpful staff were plentiful. Parking was $15. Disability Information: Disabled parking available on request, with drop off and shuttle available to the house. The lovely walk through the grounds is on a paved but slightly bumpy narrow road that gently ascends to the house, which sits on a small rise. The road is perhaps 1/8th mile long. There is a ramp to the back door, but tours enter through the front and people are carefully routed in one direction only. Some stair climbing is necessary to see the house; I did not see any elevator or disabled access to the second floor. The restrooms are nearby in another building, but require either ascending a fairly long stair up the hill or using the slightly steep ramp walkway tucked around the back. Printed information throughout the house offered no Braille. The movement of foot traffic through the house moved at a fairly good pace, but if one wishes to move at a more leisurely pace most of the time there is room to allow others to pass. A lovely place to visit and we all very much enjoyed it!

This review is for the Dunsmuir House at the Dunsmuir Hellman Historic Estate. The mansion captures the charm of a bygone era. The tours during the Christmas holidays are special events. Each room is decorated with a different theme. It is the closest to a Downton Abbey experience in the SF Bay Area. The City of Oakland operates the mansion and needs to allocate more funds for its upkeep as some portions of the house need to be better maintained.

Went here for the annual Great Gatsby Picnic and had a blast. I took off one star more so for the ppl then the actual location.

Amazing place to visit. It's a great place to relax and enjoy the nice weather. I visited this location as a James Bond fans. This estate featured in A View To A Kill with Roger Moore. So it's a historical place in multiple ways.

Was in the James Bond movie (1985’s A View To A Kill) Really cool spot to check out and been to a bunch of wedding here growing up.

Did the tea at Christmas what a treat then toured the house, the time and effort put in was amazing

The worst Easter egg hunting I ever knew....most parents complained that was so ridiculous this year....kids had to be under the blazing sun for quite a long time, they got frustrated, and cried. Although the pic backdrop looks so nice, but won't go next year.

Great day out at the Dad's & Jazz Concert!! Dunsmiur is a beautiful estate!

It's a shame the city doesn't maintain the property and grounds. It has so much potential. The grounds are filled with debris, trash and the structures are falling apart. It's a shame to see something with such history disintegrate. Come on Oakland!

Mercedes was wonderful to work with and she was very accommodating. We returned here to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary at the exact spot where we were married. Mercedes setup a private table for us on the veranda and made sure that all our wishes were met. Dunsmuir is a great place to visit and enjoy a nice peaceful stroll through the estate. Entrance is free and the grounds are have trails for walking. They have a tours of the mansion for a small fee as well. A hidden gem in Oakland.

Would have like to seen my family's estate. But it was closed. Walmart is fine, but not a museum. Lame.

The 2017 event website publicized the 0-3 y.o. egg hunt at 12p. We were in a long line to buy tickets when a volunteer told us (near the head of the line, a few minutes before 12p) that the website was wrong. The egg hunt for this age group was actually almost over because it was scheduled at 11a. WTH. Then I saw a sign that was completely idiotic. In big, bold letters: Egg Hunts from 12:00p-2:30p Below it, in smaller, bold letters: Ages 0-3: 11a-12p Ages 4-6: 1p Ages 7-10: 2p Are you kidding me?! We were able to egg hunt during the 12-1p hour so it worked out. It was just not a great start for our day, esp. since we parked far, walked up a hill and stood in line only to learn at the front of the line, that there was an error. The mistake really soured the mood.

We came here for a Father's day event and the food service was TERRIBLE. First we paid for parking and there was no special VIP parking as promised instead we ended up parking far outside the venue and where any car can come and park for free. So why did they charge us for parking exactly??? Then they said open Buffett of BBQ and I waited in line for 45 mins and paid for the food and waited in the long line to find out it's out ! Very bad experience overall. Do not attend next year if you can avoid it save yourself the trouble

This place holds a very special spot in my heart. I rented this place for my wedding and couldn't have been more pleased with the beauty of the grounds and the architecture of the buildings to celebrate in. I'd advise from my experience that if you'd like to rent this place out, contact them at least six months early. When renting this park, they have specific caterers and contacts for decorating the grounds. Inquire at the booking if you have someone else in mind for any portion of your event to make sure the site approves of them. They also book pretty fast during spring and summer weekends, particularly. Oh, and be advised, your event might have special guests in the form of wild turkeys that like to visit. They're harmless but they're known to suddenly show up. I discovered the Estate and gardens thanks to the yearly Scottish festival that is held here. During this event, there's dancing, Scottish games, vendors, and plenty of food to be had. It's quite secluded despite being such a large park located on the board of San Leandro and Oakland. I've enjoyed coming back here from time to time at the various events they hold throughout the years. I definitely recommend at least visiting here once and if you choose this for your special event, you'll not be sorry.

(See pics) Review #1270. This review is for The Great Gatsby event that was hosted on site and not inside the mansion. The area is at the very south part of Oakland, bordering San Leandro and it took about 40 minutes from San Francisco with weekend ballgame traffic to get to. The event provided parking but we did unload our picnic items since it's not right besides it. There is a small curved walk upwards to the site and once you walk through the forested path, it opened up to a very beautiful estate with the mansion on the left and a luscious green on the background. And since it's in the East Bay, the weather was absolutely warm and gorgeous on the day we visited. Because the party we attended had the 20s and 30s theme, more than just the clothes, everyone was also more courtesy. And maybe it's the charming and peaceful environment, you can feel both the excitement of the music as well as the serene sensation. It shut out the noise from the city and because the parking lot is not nearby, you were really in the 20s. The bathroom facility was clean and adequate. And since it's more like a state park, it is not estate luxurious. There is a ballroom banquet hall on the other side of the estate and it's easy to see how this can be a good host site for celebrations that involve both indoor and outdoor music and dancing, and party festive. And this review is also kudos to Art Deco Society of California for hosting such a wonderful event at such a beautiful location!

We went to Dunsmuir Hellman Historic Estate to finally cross it off our list of local places to go. They had a special Christmas Event on Sat 12/4/10 so we had to pay extra - regular cost to tour the mansion $5; we paid $12pp + $1.50 per ticket online fee. Parking is $7 + $1.50 for ticketing fee online. Don't pay the $7, there's some street parking near the paid lot & lots of residential parking nearby!! The mansion was built by Alexander Dunsmuir in 1899 as a wedding gift for his wife Josephine, but he died during their honeymoon, she end up living there until 1901. It took 9 months to build, 16,224 sq ft, 37 rooms, 20 bedrms, 9.5 baths & 10 fireplaces. NO Photos allowed in the Mansion. That sucks since we paid so much money to see it. They only gave us a paper to do a Self-guided tour. First Fl - Veranda, Floyer, Parlor, Game Rm; Library, then upstairs you can see Dome; Gallery, line closet, green room, guest bathroom, oval room, master bedroom, girl's bedroom, nurse/governess' room. Third fl: servants' stairs; dining rm; butler's pantry; kitchen; servants' dining rm; basement, then Gift shop - end. Just ok for me, we won't be back.

High tea at Dunsmuir House is High rip-off!!!! $$17.50 for Parking that was across the street at the Oakland Admin office, up a steeeeep hill, would be better off doing street parking. High tea was 1 offering per person of each item. We were lead to a table where there were already 8 people who had pretty much wiped out the food on 2 small trays. Oh and the few smidgens that were left were dried out as they must have been sitting out for a long time. Not High Tea but definitely Highway Robbery! They must make a lot of money on this, as they certainly did not put in much effort. Do not waste your time and/or your money

Really beautiful estate but what a shame nobody cares to fix it up. Paint is peeling, walls cracked, swimming pool overgrown, the indoor decoration is shoddy at best and the grounds are a pale comparison to what they were back in the day I am sure of. Not sure who decided on the interior but it is just sad and I doubt it looks anything like what it was. At one little square on the wall upstairs they left the original paint: why the h** did they even paint over it with the sorriest eggshell paint known to mankind in the first place? Bah not impressed; just sad.

This review is specifically for the 2019 Jumpin' Bunny Festival which is one of the many events that Dunsmuir Estate holds annually. My rating is no less than 3 stars because our 4-year-old had a blast and didn't want to leave (we stayed 3.5 hours). I do have to note that our child's enjoyment was almost entirely due to the many bounce houses they had as opposed to any of the Easter-themed activities/entertainment (the arts and crafts were cute and fun but we didn't spend much time on those before moving on). We didn't mind though because it was really nice just relaxing on the lawn (in nice weather!) while watching our child having so much fun going through the bounce houses over and over and over again. He is already asking to go back again next year! Despite our child having a really great time here, my rating is no more than 3 stars because we really didn't get any return for the adult entrance fees we paid, it felt somewhat disorganized, the lines were annoyingly long, the egg hunt was lame, and their pricey food/drink options (i.e., $5 hot dog, $2 can of Coke) were severely lacking (no coffee?!). Notes on the Easter egg hunt for ages 0-5: - There was already a long line when we arrived 5 minutes prior to the start time, and we ended up waiting 35 minutes for our turn. By the time we were done, the line had more than doubled. Fortunately, there were bounce houses nearby to entertain our kid while I waited in the egg hunt line. - It was an egg collection rather than an egg hunt because they just threw all the eggs directly on the lawn. This was no challenge at all for our 4-year-old, and it only took him a minute to fill his large basket. - After collecting the eggs, the kids had to give all the eggs back. Each kid was allowed to keep only one egg and received a small bag of treats. The treat bag included some cheap candy (i.e., Tootsie Rolls, Smarties) and a very small cheap toy that fit inside a plastic egg, none which I would consider appropriate for a child under 3 due to potential choking hazard. Notes on the bounce houses: - I believe they meant to separate ages 0-5 and ages 6 and up, but they didn't do a great job enforcing that. Our 4-year-old was bouncing around with much bigger kids and much smaller kids. He did just fine, but I think he would've had trouble with that a year ago. We occasionally witnessed some of the smaller kids crying in the bounce houses that were shared with the bigger kids. - They had some pretty cool bounce houses, one with a super long tunnel, one with obstacles, one with a very tall slide. There was a good number and variety. Notes on the mansion tour: - It was a self-guided walk-through. - Only the first floor was open. Tip: Get there a few minutes early to find free street parking only 1 block away instead of paying $10 for event parking.

While my mom was visiting from out-of-state, I brought here here after we spent the earlier part of the day at Dickens Fair. The grounds are very nice - and they did a great job with all the decorations in the house - it was really over the top with christmas trees in every single room. The house was a bit crowded with gushing, noisy visitors - but we made our way through and while we enjoyed the visit - we both thought that the cost was way too much for the house visit! I would love to see the top floor if I'm going to pay nearly $20 per person to walk around a pretty old house! Lots of excellent historical information and it really feels like you're taking a step back in time - to an era when Oakland was "the country" and it took several days by land to get here from San Francisco or a very long barge ride (at least according to the papers - but heck - I would try to swim that, myself!)

Extremely disappointed in the communication of their website! We checked the website to make sure they were open and drove all the way from Concord to find a hand written sign that said "sorry we are closed". No reason why, just closed. This is inexcusable and whomever is in charge of marketing should be fired. Such a beautiful, historic landmark of Oakland deserves better management!

Always thought Christmas tea celebration would make a wonderful holiday memory. Parking was $15 and up the hill. To get to the tea, one had to walk down the hill sharing the winding road with cars. There was free parking on the street, as close or closer. There were two of us. The treats on our table were lovely and delicious. We were given one pot of tea. When we asked for a second, we received 1/2. When we asked for more, we were offered tap water. There was no more tea. We bought the tickets months ago and paid $45 each. I cannot recommend this event.

Dec 15, 2018 So sad, I've been coming to Dunsmuir House Christmastime for over ten years. A family tradition! Bringing my granddaughters and friends had always been fun. This year I was so disappointed and will never go back. I felt so ripped off. The grounds, the house all have gotten so run down and degraded, it was really sad to see. The house used to be decorated and freshly made bows would be shown through out the house. Even the dining room table and chairs had been changed out to a small set. No longer the grander of a time long past. The doorman was the nicest gentleman, but the heavy set woman in the house dressed in time period custom was mean and rude to us. Telling us she saw my 25 year daughter, in a rude way 'don't touch the safe". When n fact she had not! We had been to this house over ten times and alway respected the beauty of it all. I was already questioning why the heck did I waste all this money and she confirmed why i would never return. Don't waste your money!

We had a Christmas Party here 12/14/19. The experience has been a nightmare. They stop our guest from coming in stating we was at capacity by the "LOOK" of it. And We was not over capacity at the pavilion the capacity was 275 you can see it on the website. This caused a lot of people being very angry and we had to give refunds. We put in a lot of hard work to deliver a nice party and we are very disappointed and embarrassed how our friends who some even flew in from out town was turned away at the gate. People was inside was asked to move their cars or who went out to smoke was not allowed back in. We made several attempts in resolving the issues back and forth emails it is now 7 weeks later We still haven't come to a conclusion nor did we get back our deposit refund. Which first they said it was sent back after the party Dec 14th which we never received now they respond with we will process a check in 2 weeks and send it in the mail. Mail to who what Address? so 10 weeks to get a deposit back? I guess still don't have it yet . And we still not clear If we will get any compensation for all the refunds we had to give back. BE AWARE. I will update if I ever get this situation resolved. But NEVER NEVER EVER AGAIN

This is for their Easter Egg hunt. Last year was good, this year quite the opposite. Little to no communication as to what age groups go in where. They had one person handling credit card purchases for a line of 60 persons. No signage inside the event. Mass confusion. Poorly organized. Avoid this.event.

A wonderful landmark of Oakland. Yes it needs some fixing but the place is gorgeous! The little shows and crafts @ the stable and pavilion are cool. I wish more people would go see. The price isn't bad for a great history lesson. It takes more than 2 hours to get the experience of the whole estate. Be careful of rainy days...no carriage or pony rides :( I'm interested to go to their events...Halloween, Easter etc...

This review is for the 2015 egg hunt event we just went. The site itself is very beautiful. But the egg hunt event is disappointing. Pros: 1. many crafts and activities 2. bunny dancing is super fun 3. it includes a simplified tour of the house Cons: 1. crazy lines everywhere. We waited 30 mins to get into the estate, 30 mins for toddler egg hunt, at least 20 mins for facial painting, long lines to take pictures with bunny 2. there is only one round of egg hunt for 4-6 age group or 7-8. If you miss that round, you won't get any eggs. There are 200-300 kids hunting for eggs at the same time. very scary! 3. volunteers/staffs are not well trained. They don't interact with kids at all. They don't have the ability address issues appropriately or professionally, lacking experience of dealing with kids or parents. Suggestions: 1. they should have more rounds for 4-6 or 7-8 age group. It can greatly spread out people and reduce the lines instead have 500+ people all coming at the same time before 1pm. 2. they should train the volunteers how to treat kids and parents with love and smile on their face. 3. if the amount of eggs is a concern, they should ask each family to bring a bag of eggs to contribute to the supply. There are many disappointed kids who are not able to get any eggs. 4. Compared to the egg hunt event hosted at UC Berkeley, this one is much worse, lacking of appropriate organizaiton.

Dunsmuir Estate- it's not what I was expecting. But it is really neat and a cool get away in Oakland for festivities and a history lesson. What's odd is you have to pass through a 80's Business park to get there, but once you make it though the gates of the estate, you are on the grounds of an old 1800's estate in Oakland! You can hear the freeway, but it feels very green and isolated. I went for a picnic on the 4th of July last year. My yard gets shady in the afternoon, my roommate and I were bored, and this event they host each year sounded nostalgic and could serve a a surrogate BBQ and Picnic event since we didn't have one to attend. There was an entry fee at the gate, not more than $5 a per person, but look into prices before you go. It ended up being really cute. There is a modern structure which has bathrooms, before you reach the house itself, and then there's an expansive lawn in front of the house itself. That's where the festivities for the 4th, and others, like the Highland games, take place. The landscaping is nothing spectacular, in fact, I'm concerned some of the bamboo in the water area (which has ducks, the kids love it!) has these crazy tunnels kids can hide out in, and I think it may someday take over the entire place! : ) But it's got lots of nice trees and the vibe is good. Lots of room for kids to run around safely, they even had a mini pony! The lawn is great. It seems geese free, a respite from the poo! You can bring games and lounge and do whatever. We brought wine, I think that went over OK, no one was breathing down our necks. We decided to pay a small fee and check out the house. It was worth it, but once was enough. It was a self guided tour, and honestly I didn't walk away with too much information, just an awareness that a rich white man and his family had owned the house. The weird (surreal!?) thing about it was they decorated the ENTIRE house with Teddy Bears. There were Teddy Bears everywhere, in all the rooms, sitting in parlor chairs, seated at the sumptuous fake banquet laid out on the dining room table. Bizarre; and they claim to do if for the kids....you know, make it more entertaining. Rigght. If you hear of an event taking place at Dunsmuir estate, I would encourage you to check it out, it's especially good for little ones.

Every year, Dunsmuir puts on a series of tea parties for the holiday season. Our friend put together an outing for a group of 16 to attend the Children's Tea which was located in the Dinkenspiel House, a small cottage on the Dunsmuir property. The holiday Children's Tea is for children 6 years of age and older; my daughter is 4 and, had I known that they discouraged children under 6, I wouldn't have had my friend buy the ticket. We took her anyway and no one asked about her age. The Dinkenspiel House is a cute little cottage -- it felt like stepping back in time! It was beautifully decorated and it was fun just enjoying the decor. The tea was staffed by Oakland Parks & Recreation volunteers, all dressed up in period servants' clothes. It was very cute and they did their best to give us good service. There was a little bit of confusion when it came to seating our group. Since we had such a large group, we had reserved the patio room but when we arrived, they tried to seat us in another, non-private room. It was soon sorted. We were served a plate of tea sandwiches, cookies, and scones with jam and clotted cream. My daughter received a plate of peanut butter and jelly tea as well as a pre-packaged gingerbread man. Tea was also served with cream and sugar and we were able to get as many refills on the tea during the hour tea. It was a full tea but if you are used to going out to tea (as we are), you will notice that the tea sandwiches were smaller than most tea houses, more like a 1/4 of a piece of bread vs. 1/3 at most tea places. And... well, the food just wasn't great. I can recognize a supermarket scone and cookie from a mile away. Tea at the Dunsmuir is much more about the whole experience rather than the food. Santa Claus came in to wish us all a happy holiday and my daughter (the lone kid amongst our group of adults at this Children's Tea) was very happy to get a chance to meet him. Teatime included admission to the Dunsmuir House itself. It is a beautiful house with great features and it was decorated breathtakingly. The tour is self-guided though there are volunteers in nearly every room. Honestly, I think the volunteers were less there to provide information about the house -- though they would answer if you had a specific question -- but mostly, they seemed to me to be there to remind you NOT to take photos. That's a real pity, too, because there were so many interesting features that I would have liked to make a note off. Something else to note is that if you have mobility issues, watch out because there are lots of steps.

I went to the HIGH TEA. It cost $50.00 I got lipton tea and the equivanlant of 1/2 sandwich, a strawberry with chocolate and 3 tine pastries. It is not worth it. It was worth $15.00 at the most

We went here for the Easter egg hunt. The event was terribly organized - starting from the process to buy tickets upfront, to the organization of the egg hunt itself. Very disappointing and waste of time and money!

this place will always give me very special memories growing up in the eighties. my grandparents lived behind the dunsmuir house so it always gave me plenty of opportunity to sneak around and play on the gardens. we would go out in front of my grandparents place go back into any of the neighbors yard and climb a steep hill to get to the gardens. once there the awesome site of the gardens and this majestic mansion were insane. the house has also been used in movies as well. my favorite one was a view to a kill, my favorite bond movie. a neighbor of ours even snuck onto the set during filming and surprised roger moore in his trailer in only his underwear. damn i wish i was there to see that!! it was also used in so i married an axe murderer as a hotel. the dunsmuir house and gardens are also a used for events and weddings and would make a very memorable occasion for anyone

The best thing I can say about Dunsmuir is that you totally forget that you're in Oakland. Since you're up in the hills in a tranquil green area away from the urban lifestyle you start to lose the image of crime story news reports and BART shootings. I came here to attend a wedding. The hardest thing about this place would have to be the parking. There's some parking on the inside of the fence for about six cars while everyone else has to park outside on the street. Then you have to walk a medium stretch of paved asphalt to the where the main estate is. The variety of plants is healthy but I wouldn't say plentiful or particularly lush; although, you can tell someone is taking care of the grounds. I didn't actually get to go inside the mansion rather take photos of it. The dining hall is pretty nice. It's located up on the hillside so you have a walk up steps or up the disabled path. The hall can seat a hundred plus guest wedding party. Outside is chill and there is a fair amount of concrete seating. For a warm night it's pretty nice especially with the color water fountain going. The bathrooms are located in a separate building from the dining hall which is actually pretty good because it forces the traffic outside. _____ I can't talk about the mansion because we weren't allowed in it. The location is tranquil and easy to throw a party. If you're looking for amazing views this place doesn't have many. If you're looking for a place that feels both wide open and intimate, this could be it.

Flew in from Chicago to San Francisco, this mansion was one of our destinations on vacation. We arrived here on Halloween day during open business hours according to the Dunsmuir Mansion website itself to find out it was closed. Unfortunately we'll probably never get a chance to see it again and left here feeling disappointed. Not even a chance to take a picture of it. My best advice would be to call before you go.

Went for Easter event 2013. "Staff" were teenagers but super nice. Toddler egg hunt line was painfully long and slow. My observation of the hunt was too many parents freaking out their kids would get anything so they grab the treats or yell at their kids pick it up as they point it out. The grass is cleaned out in 2 min and not worth it for us. We waited 30 min and left the line. I projected another 45 min wait. Easter Bunny was nice and not creepy but once again, the line was too long so we didn't get the picture we wanted. My guess was 45 min to an hour. There were crafts but my toddler was too young. Might be good for older children but we won't go again.

Great Christmas High Tea. Food was great, decorations as always superb. If you are not able to go to the high tea, make sure to see the music,food and entertainment that is provided in the pavilion the Big Band is A Christmas treat. The food, beverages and popcorn are a must to try

I went to the Dunsmuir Estate for the annual Gatsby Picnic put on by the Art Deco Society. Even though the area is open year-round, it set the scene for a vintage get-together perfectly! The grounds are well-kept, and it is far enough away from the hustle and bustle of 580 to really hear anything. There are fountains, grassy areas, and rest areas as well. The only problem is getting to the area in the first place. It's a little bit of a trek to get there, so bring some good walking shoes or come up with a plan of attack beforehand.

I attended a Christmas special event last year at the Dunsmuir House and Garden. The house was completely decorated for the Christmas season. There were carolers outside on the veranda as I entered the house singing lovely traditional Christmas songs. The ground were beautiful, the house decorations were beautiful but I was creeped out for the mir fact that the place is historical and historical stuff kind of grosses me out since I tend to like hip, trendy, cutting edge tech type stuff. There was a horse and buggy that I saw traveling around the grounds and the driver of the buggy was dress of course as in days gone by (old looking style). The day I was there is was pouring, I mean POURING rain, dark and grey outside so that didn't help ease the creep out of me. I'm sure its an extremely lovely place for many people but for me...naw.

We just had our wedding at the Dunsmuir at the Garden Pavilion. The grounds were amazing and many of our guests complimented how they loved the venue. However, in the Garden Pavilion there were multiple stray helium balloons that continuously hit the fans during the wedding toasts. Additionally, we wanted to take pictures in the morning before the wedding on the grounds and we were initially told the grounds would be open and we could do that, but when I followed up in May to confirm that we could take photos. We were then told the gates would be locked and if we wanted to take photos we would need to pay an additional $300. In general, the view is amazing and customer service is average.

I don't come to Oakland that often so of course I've never heard of the Dunsmuir Estate. I was looking for an Easter egg hunt event and the estate popped up. So the day before Easter, my husband and I took our 18 month old son to the estate. There was no fee for parking but we did park along the street. It's a steep walk to the entrance (you get a work out pushing a stroller). There is a parking lot. We got our bands and paid the $10 fee ($5 each for adults) and made our way to the estate. There is a lot of greenery but nothing too special about the grounds. But the estate itself was nice. We later took a tour of the estate and it really looks nice inside. They even decorated with bunnies and easter eggs. No photography though. We didn't pay for the tour though it seems from looking at other reviews for different events, you do pay for the tour. The kids depending on their age were divided on different lawns of the estate and started at different times. For the children under 3, you basically just get the plastic eggs on the lawn and exchange it for candy. Then the volunteers throw the eggs back for those that didn't get any. It was kind of chaotic and I do remember hearing some grumbling parents. I'm not sure what it looks like for the older ones but at least you don't have the parents helping. After that, you can have your own picnic on the lawn. There is a lot of space for the kids to run around. There was also a hot dog and popcorn vendor. The activities included egg dying, arts and crafts, tour the estate, potato sack race and take a picture with the Easter bunny. It was a nice family Easter gathering and maybe we will come back again next year.

The Terrifying Halloween Tour was excellent. There was a lot of thought and creativity put into the various scenes. The actors did a good job and seem to be enjoying themselves. Plus, the cost of admission goes to a great cause!

The grounds are beautiful and the house is amazing to tour. The food is edible to say the least. The quality of the tea varies from time to time. Regardless of the tea, the grounds are very beautiful and calming.

Skip the Fathers Day event. Paid for parking in advance and it turned out all parking was free, and was also long walk down. The gate was nearly closed when we came in so I had to tug it open to get through, which I didn't appreciate as I am very pregnant. No directions given on check in so we wandered around for a bit and things are spread out so it's not apparent where the other activities are. Was told BBQ was included but then found out upon arrival that it is not (they said it was a typo?!?!) and the line is taking upwards of 45 minutes. No idea what we paid for, there are plenty of places that have live music outside for free today.

We had our almost 200-person wedding at the Dunsmuir House this early summer 2010 and it was really awesome. If you use the Dunsmuir, use Culinary Excellence Catering. Trust me! :) Dunsmuir is a hidden gem! It has a beautifully stunning and peaceful atmosphere. Our wedding photos feature a lot of the natural beauty, trees, flowers and bright green pastures of the Dunsmuir property. We did our ceremony in the lawn by the pond and then our cocktail hour on the grass. Between the ceremony and cocktails, we took a group photo in front of the Dunsmuir House, and then went into the Pavilion for dinner, with the bar on the patio. It was exactly what we wanted. We hired a bus to take our out-of-town guests to and from San Francisco hotels, since there aren't nice hotels near Dunsmuir. I had searched all over the Bay Area for a venue that could give us this space, natural beauty + convenience of indoor dining. It ended up being so much cheaper to get this from the Dunsmuir than going to Napa Valley and trying to deal with wineries' inflated prices and early-closing times. The Brazilian Room in Berkeley was similar to Dunsmuir, but way too small for our needs. Plus, you can't roam around the Brazilian Room property since so much of it is on a hill. Culinary Excellence Catering has a great relationship with the Dunsmuir and they know how to use the space well and they can even deal directly with Dunsmuir in terms of billing/contracts/etc. Roz from Dunsmuir is great! She is really sweet and showed us around and truly cares for the gardens and space. But I had read reviews and heard stories that it might be difficult to deal with the Dunsmuir management. So, using Culinary Excellence solves this problem because they deal directly with the Dunsmuir and preserve that relationship. The fact that Dunsmuir is "in the middle of nowhere" and next to a freeway didn't bother me. Once you are on the property, you are transported to a whole new world. It is gorgeous in June. Also, the Pavilion isn't a "spectacular" venue, but we enhanced the natural wood colors and high ceilings with natural green colors and under-stated decor. Culinary Excellence brought in trees and an outdoor fountain to make the space really shine. Bonus - I can't wait to go back to Dunsmuir with my husband during their festivals and holidays to relive our wedding day memories on that beatiful property. Dunsmuir really is a magical place for me.

Easter 2017 Egghunt was a disaster. Unorganized, no parking, too many kids for each hunt, terrorized parents looking for their children ( parents were not allowed inthe egghunt.) Lines after lines...no parking...Angry parents! At one point I saw several kids crying and two parents beyond upset! We did not come to the event to have such chaos- not coming back again!

This is for the Easter Egg Hunt: I went there yesterday and was disappointed. The egg hunt itself for the 7-10 year olds was too much chaos and I think they ran out of eggs. My child being 7 was the youngest in the age group and he was as fast as the older kids. Needless to say, he did not get an egg and instead along with the younger kids in the group- picked candy up from the grass. I felt bad for my child and traded 5 pieces of candy for an egg from an older child. In the end, I threw away the candy my child picked up off the grass as it was not sanitary AND it contained PEANUTS. It was the peanut taffy candy- abba zabba, I think it's called. Never going back for Easter Egg hunt that's for sure.

We had our wedding there, WORSE place ever. as far as view and the actual place we have no complain but managment WORSManagment ever. Dont work with Rebbeca she will rip you off. they willl tell you that they would do everything you want but the night of your event they will tell its not in your contract .They will try not to give you back your deposit . You have to fight for your money. VERY Disappoinment

Disappointing and the staff isn't particularly nice. It's ok but not special enough to warrant going out of your way.

If I had to rate just the grounds and the Estate, I would say it would be 4 stars.......However, I'm rating an experience I recently had with an event we put on here on the grounds. Since the venue recently was taken over by the City of Oakland Parks & Rec.....the staff was less than accommodating, and very difficult to work with! Between the furlough days, hours of operation and attitudes.....it's a place I probably wouldn't recommend for this! However, if you'd like to take a beautiful stroll with a loved one.....then sneak away and neck....go for it!!

I have visited the Dunsmuir Estate and throughly enjoyed the grounds, the holiday home tour and the gift shop. I was surprised by the cost to get in and even more shocked by the price to park and there is no other option for parking. I have seen other events at Dunsmuir since then that I would be interested in attending, but the prices are just too high. It is nice, but I don't feel it warrants the prices that they charge.

The bottom line is that it's close and cheap and so I've gone to the easter egg hunt the last three years. The first year was the best as it was a new experience and as others have posted it's an interesting place to see and imagine a bygone era. Parking is always sucky on easter so come early and get a spot or be prepared to walk. The egg hunt is what we really come for but it always winds up a bit of a mess due to lack of coordination which results in false starts and well you can just imagine how hard it is to stop kids once that happens. I don't think I'll be back next year. Give it a shot at least once and you'll have a good time. Otherwise explore something new.

This place is a quiet little oasis in the Oakland hills. It's a little slice of bay area history and a great place to take a walk or have a picnic. The grounds of the mansion are well maintained as well as the mansion itself. The volunteers really do a wonderful job of keeping up the house. I recommend taking a tour of the mansion. The docent lead tour takes about an hour, is very informative, and allows you to see most of the house. I also hear that during christmas the house is beautifully decorated. This place is truly a gem.

Paid $40 per person for Mothers Day High Tea event. House tour was enjoyable, but don't need to do more than once. Grounds weren't anything special, pond was filthy gray color. Restrooms near a modern meeting building were locked with no signage. Later found out they were closed due to a water leak, but staff at the entrance did not know that when we arrived. Service and food at High Tea was underwhelming. Can easily do better myself at home. Tea was tepid and last serving we had was so bitter from overbrewing that we couldn't even drink it. Finger sandwiches barely had any filling and didn't even have enough servings of mini muffins and mini cheesecakes for each person at our table to have one each. Menu on table said scones, but never saw a scone unless they think mini muffins are scones. Wait staff was slow and not even in our room for a long period of time. I think she was also working another room so maybe more staff would have helped. Left hungry and unimpressed. If this is an annual fundraising event, they should try a different caterer. Will never go again and would definitely not recommend this event for Mothers' Day.

This review is for the egg hunt on the site. The site itself is beautiful and the house is old but full of history. Pros: 1. bunny dancing is super fun 2. there are crafts and facial painting and many other activities Cons: 1. lines are crazy long and there is a line everywhere. We waited 30 mins to get into the estate and another 30 min for egg hunt and at least 20 mins for paid facial painting. There are even lines to take pictures with bunny 2. there's only one egg hunt for 4 to 6 year-old and one for 7 to 8. If you miss that one, you cannot get any eggs. There are about 200-300 kids hunting for eggs at that same time! very scary. 3. volunteers are not trained well, no interaction with the kids, not nice or professional to address issues. Suggestions: 1. They should definitely arrange more rounds of egg hunt for 4-6 or 7-8 age group. It will spread out the people and reduce the lines instead of having 500+ people coming before 1pm. 2. Volunteers need to be better trained in how to treat kids and parents. They should at least have smiles on their face. 3. If the amount of eggs is a concern, they should ask each family to bring a bag of eggs to contribute to the egg hunt. There are many disappointed kids who are not able to get anything. 4. Compared to the egg hunt event in UC Berkeley, this one is a lot worse, lacking appropriate organization.

I came here last year for a easter egg hunt.. they had lots of activities for the kids and age appropriate hunts . I will definitely come back . Gorgeous grounds and we'll cleaned

We held our September wedding at the Dunsmuir Estate, with 185 guests. It was a lovely venue, with the ceremony on the lawn in front of a beautiful oak tree, cocktails on the patio, and dinner in the pavilion. It all went very smoothly, and we appreciated that the venue provided the tables and chairs for both the ceremony and the dinner. Rebecca, the event coordinator, was responsive and helpful throughout our planning process, and the staff was great on the day of the wedding. The only downside for us was not being able to lock in a wedding rehearsal time until a month or so in advance, and it would have been great to know more than a week in advance that we could have started decorating on the rehearsal day since there wasn't another wedding before ours that weekend. However, the grounds were beautiful, the pavilion opening to the patio was great, everyone had a fabulous time, and we were happy to have our venue fee go to the Oakland Parks Department.

I had my wedding at Dunsmuir on 5/29/16. Overall it went really well and everything was beautiful. The grounds are gorgeous and the mansion itself is spectacular, so it was an excellent location for our wedding; very Gatsby-esque! We had a large-ish group (160 people) and there was plenty of room in the pavilion to accommodate everyone. We added the option to open the mansion for self guided tours during cocktail hour and our guests loved it, I heard from many people how cool it was to walk through the mansion (we did tour the mansion while we were planning our wedding and my inner grandma totally geeked out over it). It was fairly easy to work with the staff at Dunsmuir throughout our planning process. They had one coordinator (Anna) when we started who was very prompt about responding to emails and phone calls and working with us to set up our plan, and then earlier this year they changed coordinators (now it's Rebecca), and she has also been very good about that stuff. Dunsmuir provided all the tables and chairs so we didn't need to rent anything, and they had someone on security at the gate during the event to make sure random people didn't crash the party. The only issues we had were pretty minor: there was a miscommunication somewhere and we thought we could take some wedding photos in the mansion (this was a big part of why we elected to open it during cocktail hour), but Rebecca initially stopped us when we tried to do that. She did let us take photos in a couple of the rooms on the first floor when we talked to her about it though, which was nice. The other issue was that we couldn't set the day and time of our rehearsal until 1 month before, which was a little stressful since our wedding was on a Sunday and we had out-of-town friends in the wedding party who didn't want to take more time off of work than necessary. All that said, we're very happy that we had our wedding at Dunsmuir and would recommend it to other people looking for a reasonably priced, beautiful wedding venue that accommodates large groups.