Travel Information

Venue

The conference takes place at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA.

Travel to Berkeley

Flying to the Bay Area

Most travelers fly into the following two airports:

• San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

  • Approximately 25 miles (40 km) from Berkeley

    • Driving: 30-35 min with no traffic; typically ~1 hour or more during rush hour

    • Public transport (BART): approximately 1 hour travel time

      • From SFO BART station, take the Red BART line (heading towards Richmond) to the Downtown Berkeley station (50 min ride)

• Oakland International Airport (OAK)

  • An operating base for Southwest Airlines

  • Approximately 15 miles (24 km) from Berkeley

    • Driving: 20-25 min with no traffic; typically ~45 min or more during rush hour

    • Public transport (BART): approximately 50 min travel time

      • Take the Oakland Airport Connector to BART Coliseum station (9 min ride) then transfer to the Orange line heading towards Richmond to the Downtown Berkeley station (20 min ride)

Driving

• Parking in LBNL is very limited and not available on-site for conference attendees lodging off-site or visiting for the day.  Attendees are encouraged to take the shuttles from downtown Berkeley to LBNL.

• Attendees who drive to Berkeley for the day are encouraged to park their vehicles in downtown Berkeley and take the shuttle to LBNL. 

Parking in downtown Berkeley

• The recommended parking garages near the LBNL shuttles are:

  • Center Street Parking Garage (2025 Center Street), 720 parking spaces

  • Telegraph Channing Parking Garage (2450 Durant Avenue, Southside/Telegraph Ave), 420 parking spaces

Recommended Hotels

• On-Site - Berkeley Lab Guest House: 1 Cyclotron Road, Building 23, Berkeley CA 94720

  • only lodging option on LBNL site

  • 5 minute walk to conference rooms

  • If you don't have car, will have to rely on lab shuttle, which only has service from Downtown to the lab until 8:48pm (could making returning back challenging after dinner in downtown Berkeley).   There are no dinner options on-site at LBNL.

• Residence Inn Berkeley (Marriott): 2121 Center St, Berkeley, CA 94704

  • newest hotel in Berkeley (opened a few years ago)

  • less than 1 block walk to Downtown Berkeley BART station and LBNL shuttle stop

• Hotel Shattuck Plaza: 2086 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94704

  • less than 1 block walk to Downtown Berkeley BART station and LBNL shuttle stop

• Graduate by Hilton Berkeley: 2600 Durant Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704

  • ~0.8 mile (1.3 km) walk to Downtown Berkeley BART station and LBNL shuttle stop

• Aiden by Best Western Berkeley: 1499 University Ave, Berkeley, CA 94702

  • 1 mile (1.6 km) walk to Downtown Berkeley BART station and LBNL shuttle stop

LBNL Shuttle

Most Recommended: there will be special event shuttles servicing the conference from the Downtown area near BART: exact locations and times TBA

Alternative: The LBNL "Blue" shuttle boards every ~10 minutes directly in front of the Jupiter restaurant next to the Downtown Berkeley BART station.   When boarding at this station the shuttle will be labeled "Blue Uphill", i.e. heading up the hill to LBNL, in contrast to the Blue line shuttles traveling from LBNL down the hill to downtown Berkeley that are labeled "Blue Downhill."

• When boarding the "Blue" shuttle, you will have to show the driver your email visitor pass and photo ID. 

• The driver may tell you to show the pass and ID to the guard at the LBNL Blackberry gate.  

• Either the shuttle driver or guard at the gate will inspect your pass and ID.  

• After the shuttle passes through the gate, it may immediately stop at the foot of the Building 59 if a rider requests the stop. Don’t get off here, disembark at the "main" stop at Building 65, which is next (see map).

Other LBNL visitor links:

• Interactive Laboratory Map 

• Maps and Directions 

• Parking and Site Access

• Lab shuttle