Anthony Chabot Regional Park is a

regional park A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government. Definition A regional park can be a special park distri ...

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...

Alameda County, California Alameda County ( ) is a List of counties in California, county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and List ...

in the United States. It is part of the

East Bay Regional Park District The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) is a special district operating in Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California, within the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area. It maintains and operates a system of regional parks which ...

system, and covers in the San Leandro Hills adjacent to

San Leandro San Leandro ( Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the so ...

and Castro Valley. Popular activities include hiking, cycling and horseback riding. A

gun range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by military ...

operated by the Chabot Gun Club was shut down in 2016, following complaints about pollution. The terrain of the park is often steep, consisting of

grasslands A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natural ...

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean ...

, and

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including ''Corymbia'', they are commonly known as eucal ...

groves.

Recreational activities

The park is adjacent to

Lake Chabot Regional Park Lake Chabot Regional Park is a regional park located in the southern Berkeley Hills in Alameda County, California. It is part of the East Bay Regional Parks system. Lake Chabot is a reservoir located in the park. The northern part of the lake a ...

Redwood Regional Park Dr. Aurelia Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park (formerly known as Redwood Regional Park) is a part of the East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is located in the hills east of Oakland. The park contains the largest ...

, Dunsmuir Ridge Open Space, and the Upper San Leandro Reservoir. There are

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...

s for

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histo ...

horseback riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding ( Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

, and

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

that connect to other regional parks. Trailheads are located along Redwood Road and Skyline Boulevard in Oakland. The park houses two equestrian centers for private horse boarding and lessons: Chabot Equestrian Center and Skyline Ranch Equestrian Center. Redwood Canyon Public Golf Course, a marina with rental boats, and picnic areas are located at adjacent

Camping

Anthony Chabot Family Campground view of Lake Chabot

Camping is a major activity in the park with a 75-campsite family campground and seven group camps. Anthony Chabot Family Campground is open year round and features 53 drive-to tent campsites, 10 walk-to tent campsites, and 12 RV/trailer campsites. Some campsites offer views overlooking Lake Chabot. The park's seven group campsites are for groups ranging in size from 11 to 300 campers. Bort Meadow Group Camp, with a capacity of 300, also allows equestrian camping.

History

The park opened in 1952 as Grass Valley Regional Park, named for the dominant geographic feature of the northern part of the park, Grass Valley. In 1965 the park was renamed in honor of Anthony Chabot, the builder of Lake Chabot and Oakland's first

public water system Public water system is a regulatory term used in the United States and Canada, referring to certain utilities and organizations providing drinking water. United States The US Safe Drinking Water Act and derivative legislation define "public water ...

. The lands that make up the park were originally ancestral land of the Jalquin, an

Ohlone The Ohlone, formerly known as Costanoans (from Spanish meaning 'coast dweller'), are a Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the ...

and

Bay Miwok The Bay Miwok are a cultural and linguistic group of Miwok, a Native American people in Northern California who live in Contra Costa County. They joined the Franciscan mission system during the early nineteenth century, suffered a devastating ...

speaking tribe. The lands were divided by the Mexican land grants in the 1840s, the southern portion of the park to Rancho San Lorenzo and the northern portion to Rancho San Antonio. In the 1860s American settlers ranched the area including the 525-acre Grass Valley Ranch located in the area that is today Bort Meadow. Cattle grazing continues in Grass Valley. Extensive

coast redwood ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus ''Sequoia (genus), Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast r ...

logging occurred in Anthony Chabot Regional Park and neighboring

from the late 1800s to early 1900s. While all the original coast redwoods in Anthony Chabot Regional Park were logged, many regrowth trees are over 100 years old. Various water companies, predecessors to the

East Bay Municipal Utility District East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), colloquially referred to as "East Bay Mud", is a public utility district which provides water and sewage treatment services for an area of approximately in the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay.Se ...

, consolidated much of the land for watershed purposes. Beginning around 1910, the water companies were responsible for planting the large

plantations that are still a dominant feature in the park. Some water company land was leased to ranchers in the 1900s, including the family of Manuel Maciel, an

Azorean ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

immigrant. The Maciel family (later changed to Marciel after an error in a local school record), ranched the land in the area that is now the Anthony Chabot Family Campground and marksmanship range. The main access road to these facilities is named Marciel Road in the family's honor. In the area of Big Bear Staging Area along Redwood Road was the Big Bear Tavern. While no traces remain, this was the site that began the

traditional jazz Trad jazz, short for "traditional jazz", is a form of jazz in the United States and Britain in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, played by musicians such as Chris Barber, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Ken Colyer and Monty Sunshine, based on a rev ...

revival. In 1940,

Lu Watters Lucius Carl Watters (December 19, 1911 – November 5, 1989) was a trumpeter and bandleader of the Yerba Buena Jazz Band. Jazz critic Leonard Feather said, “The Yerba Buena band was perhaps the most vital factor in the reawakening of public in ...

formed the

Yerba Buena Jazz Band Lu Watters & the Yerba Buena Jazz Band is the name of an American traditional jazz revival band founded by Lu Watters in 1940. Yerba Buena was the original name of San Francisco, California. Notable members included singer and banjoist Clancy Haye ...

as a way to reject

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

music of the era which he viewed to be bland. Jam sessions were regularly held at the Big Bear Tavern where crowds of up to 400 could assemble on the dance floor. The tavern is memorialized by the band's song "Big Bear Stomp". A

ropes course A ropes course is a challenging outdoor personal development and team building activity which usually consists of high and/or low elements. Low elements take place on the ground or above the ground. High elements are usually constructed in tre ...

, archery range, and motorcycle park were once located at the park. A

marksmanship A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting using projectile weapons (in modern days most commonly an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle or a sniper rifle) to shoot at high-value targets at longer-th ...

range was operated within the park by the non-profit Chabot Gun Club. Due to lead contamination, the

Board of Directors voted unanimously to shut down the marksmanship range operated by the Chabot Gun Club. The range, which has been in operation since 1963, ceased operations on September 5, 2016.

Filmography

A service station film set was built along Redwood Road at the Big Bear Staging Area in Anthony Chabot Regional Park for a chase scene in

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Dolla ...

's ''True Crime'' (1999).

References

External links

ebparks.org
- East Bay Regional Park District's Anthony Chabot Regional Park page * *Anthony Chabot Park map: , , . {{Oakland Attractions Parks in Alameda County, California East Bay Regional Park District Berkeley Hills Bay Area Ridge Trail