Del Valle Regional Park is a 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 ...

(EBRPD) in an unincorporated region of

Alameda County, California Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Alam ...

, south of the city of Livermore.Del Valle Regional Park profile
East Bay Regional Park District, retrieved September 1, 2007 The park covers 4,316 acres (~17.47 km²., ~6.74 sq. mi.).

Geography

Overview

The park largely surrounds Lake Del Valle, an artificial reservoir made in 1968 by damming

Arroyo Valle Arroyo Valle or Arroyo Del Valle is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 15, 2011 westward-flowing stream that begins in northeastern Santa Clara County, California ...

, a small river. The lake provides a source of recreation for visitors including swimming, fishing, and boating. There are lifeguards present at designated swimming areas. The park also offers 28 miles (~45.1 km) of hiking, horseback, and bicycle trails, in addition to 150 camping sites. It is the eastern gate for the

Ohlone Wilderness Trail 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 ...

, which leads to Sunol and

Mission Peak Mission Peak is a mountain peak located east of Fremont, California. It is the northern summit on a ridge that includes Mount Allison and Monument Peak. Mission Peak has symbolic importance, and is depicted on the logo of the City of Fremont. It ...

Regional Parks.

Trails

The park, like many East Bay Regional Parks, has numerous trails. One trail, the East Shore Trail, leads from the Arroyo Road staging area to a ridge above Del Valle, and then follows the lake for several miles toward the

boat launch A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...

. The Sailor Camp Trail leads to the Ohlone Wilderness Trail, and an unnamed trail leads to Mendenhall Road. Most of the trails climb hills around the lake; most, however, stay between in elevation.

Access to the park

By car

The park can be approached from Del Valle Park Road (via Mines Road) or Arroyo Road, where the parking meter is often broken. Del Valle Road connects to the southern end of the park, while Arroyo Road connects to the northern staging area. Mines Road can be reached from Tesla Road ( J2) and the California State Route 130. Arroyo Road can be reached from Concannon Boulevard and Wetmore Road.

By foot

You can reach the Arroyo staging area along a narrow footpath which connects to Sycamore Grove Park and the general LARPD (Livermore Area Recreation and Park District) trail network.

History

Early years

Construction crews began work on the lake in 1966. The construction of Del Valle Reservoir was finished in 1968. Del Valle Regional Park was opened to the public in 1970, 36 years after the EBRPD was founded in 1934.

Weather

California drought in the 2010s

In the early- to mid-2010s, a severe drought struck the California region, including the East Bay; this caused 12 million trees in California to die. The East Bay Regional Park District wrote an article to help with the drought.

Flooding in the 2016-2017 winter

Shortly after the California drought in the 2010s, Del Valle Regional Park suffered widespread damage from the unusually heavy rains and La Niña that struck the East Bay in early 2017. Much of the damage was around Lake Del Valle, where runoff overflowed five times into beaches, campgrounds and picnic areas. Some of the trails were washed out and needed to be rebuilt. The park was closed for nearly three months, before reopening on April 15, 2017. EBRPD estimated the cost to repair this park alone at $1.8 billion, and said the cost would rise further if the rains continued.Cuff, Denis. "Storms hit parks hard." Bay Area News Group. April 15, 2017. Accessed April 15, 2017. With another La Niña scheduled for the 2017-2018 winter, it seemed quite possible that repairs would have to be done after that winter as well.

2019 flooding

In early 2019, heavy rains again came to the Del Valle Regional Park area, and as a result, the park closed in mid-February 2019. It was scheduled to re-open in early March.

Algae

Lake Del Valle has in the past had a problem with dangerous algae, and during the 2015/2016 winter, swimming was banned in the lake.

Gallery

File:Del Valle Regional Park Panorama.jpg, Lake Del Valle reservoir, within Del Valle Regional Park in the Diablo Range, Alameda County, San Francisco Bay Area, California. File:Del Valle Regional Park Eagle Crest Trail.jpg, Del Valle Regional Park - Eagle Crest Trail File:Del Valle Regional Park Eagle Crest Trail B.jpg, Del Valle Regional Park - Eagle Crest Trail File:Del Valle Regional Park Ridgeline Trail.jpg, Del Valle Regional Park - Ridgeline Trail File:Arctostaphylos glauca cedar mountain.JPG, Del Valle Regional Park - Cedar Mountain
''Arctostaphylos glauca'' — bigberry manzanita File:Arroyo del Valle - Major Cliffs.jpg, Cliffs at the northern end of Del Valle Regional Park

References

External links

Del Valle Park at the EBRPD website
{{East Bay Regional Parks East Bay Regional Park District Parks in Alameda County, California Protected areas established in 1968 1968 establishments in California