Tilden Park Little Farm

One of the District's three oldest parks, Tilden has been called the jewel of the system, and its recreational activities have become a happy tradition for generations of East Bay youngsters. From a carousel ride and a picnic to a swim at Lake Anza and a stroll through the Botanic Garden, Tilden has variety to delight everyone. Good things come to those who pay very close attention-- because if you blink, you just might miss one of the cutest little surprises the Bay Area has to offer. Tucked away inside a hollow tree in Tilden Regional Park near Berkley, CA is the world's smallest woodland post office, cared for by postmaster Freddy the Fieldmouse-- and if you leave him a letter, he just might respond. Originally, the little post office was a secret just meant to enchant observant explorers, but the real-life story behind it is just as charming. It was set up in Tilden Regional Park by crafter/designer Lea Redmond of Leafcutter designs as a thank you to writer Gareth Branwyn for an essay he wrote about the design studio. It was December of 2013 when she placed the little scene in a hollow knot in a tree along the park's Curran Trail, but Redmond never expected the post office to be a permanent installation. When she visited it again in January, she was delighted to find that it hadn't been disturbed, and decided to write some tiny little letters to place inside the office's mailbox for visitors to take home. Remond returned 6 months later, once again surprised and pleased with the fact that the post office was still intact-- in fact, she found that passersby had been leaving mail of their own, and had added some furniture and decor to the hollow tree. She left some more notes and returned a few days later to find that a girl named Penelope had left a postmaster named Freddy the Fieldmouse to care for the office (Freddy is really just a doodle on a scrap of paper, so some imagination is required). Now, whenever a passing hiker leaves a note for Freddy, he responds (with help from Redmond, of course). -Roadtrippers