Anthony Chabot Regional Park

I just needed/wanted a short getaway without driving hours from home. Since I'm used to this place for mountain biking, I figured I'd try camping here for a couple nights. 

I did a recon ride previously on my mountain bike, so knew which spots I'd prefer and booked site 35 for a Thursday and Friday night. 

Arrived at about 5PM and found my spot. The ranger booth was closed, but I didn't feel the need to chat with them anyway. The place was largely unoccupied at this point. Maybe a dozen or so spots appeared taken. 

The weather, though hot in the Bay Area at this point, was quite nice. The breeze and shade of the park made for a very comfortable setting. I believe it was 88 in Castro Valley, but felt about 78 at the campground. I don't have AC for the van, but didn't feel I needed any. 

I got setup and then headed out for a short ride, followed by a warm shower, cold beer and dinner. It was quiet that evening and I slept well. 

I worked through the morning Friday, though the Starlink suffered some interruptions due to the tree cover. Early afternoon more people started to show up, as I expected. I went for a long ride and when I returned the place was much more occupied and people were setting up tents, starting their bbq's, etc. Though a bit close to the neighbors, none of them were obnoxious. 

My advice would be to know the spot you're selecting and know that in the summer months the grass isn't green :) 

I'd score the individual aspects as follows (1-5):

Bathrooms: 4

Location: 5

Activities: 5

Privacy: 3

Cleanliness: 4

Midweek in June the park, which is fairly large, is still nearly empty. The sites are fairly close to each other, which matters because one of the other campers is right next to mine (46) and doesn't understand basic camp etiquettes like not using generators all night or letting their dog wonder through other sites and the bathroom areas off-leash. Still the campsites all have decent views–though best ones abut the lake on the map. They look close to the lake on the map but they are actually way up high above it. There are trails running throughout the park and around the lake that are a mix of wider open trails and narrower, through the woods, but groomed trails with plenty of up and down to make for a good hike.

Lots of birds and wildlife–beware says the sign...all the signs, but I mostly only saw turkeys and a few water birds. Because the camp was empty, I moved over to site 56 when it was clear my neighbor was a camp d-bag. It was a pull through with a downhill slope in the site but not in the drive. The views and solitude over here were great with the setting sun through the trees, and the knowledge that the Bay in the distance.

There were a few other weird vibes in the park, namely some e-bikers charging up phones at the bathroom drinking 40s and smoking joints, while watching very loud sitcoms on the charging phones. They seemed mostly harmless, and were gone well before dark.

The warm waters* of Lake Chabot was beautiful and tempting as a siren, but don't touch it, or let your dog touch it, unless you want to get mutated like the Ninja Turtles...

Actually, that is a bad example. That would be awesome. The water will make you sick or your (or your pets) skin break out in a real not fun way. It is toxic. It will not make you a Ninja Turtle.

The showers were great. Hot and FREE!

Finally, this is a well-kept park with proactive rangers only limited by their working hours, and despite it being quite accessible to Oakland, the park felt like camping in the wilderness, even though I could hear cheers echoing through the canyon from a graduation somewhere below.

The road in is fairly winding with a bit of a drop down the cliff. If you're heading in at dusk or dawn, go slow. You will see deer stepping through the road.

*I don't know if it was warm. I didn't touch it.

We love to camp here for barbecuing, mountain biking and hiking. We always do it during 7/4 holidays except for this year when the park canceled our reservation due to high heat. So we booked for the Labor Day weekend. Temperature was perfect and biking and hiking were enjoyable as usual. This year we had two new types of visitors to the the site. A couple of wild turkeys came to pick up the dropped food on the ground. We were able to take a closeup look at them and they were beautiful birds with big eyes spotting tiny bits of crumbs. They come and go from one site to the next quietly and gently. Very cute and we took pictures with their presence. Then came the aggressive yellow jackets. We never had yellow jackets in our previous 7/4 outings here. Oh boy, they fought for the meat relentlessly. At the end of the outing, both my finger and my wife’s were stung. We reported the experience to the attendant at the gate when leaving. She said the park is looking for a solution. In the meantime, she suggested contacting them early on so they might be able to provide another site. Hopefully, next year, we won’t encounter so many nasties.

Great campground, stayed 4 nights in December. Highlights include sunrise views over the lake and hills with rolling fog, wild turkeys everywhere, smell of eucalyptus, warm showers, and scores of dedicated staff who genuinely care about this place. Sites are also nicely-spaced apart. (Though this also has the drawback that many of them are a significant walk to either the entrance or to bathrooms).

Only bummer was that in winter a lot of the best sites are closed. Also, not that there's a ton they can do about this, but the eucalyptus trees shed a ton of bark and so the roads are littered with them giving the place a kind of constant "just-survived-a-storm" kind of feel (at least when it's windier).

Most no-hookup sites are flat. 47 was the one I settled in since it is closest to the showers / sink for washing dishes and also has a little bit of lake view.

Just know that it's a hilly and winding drive in. Figure ~30 minutes from Castro Valley, the nearest town.

ATT data signal was modest (5-25mbps). T-mobile was basically non-existent.

This was our first visit and we were impressed. The campground is clean and quiet. No generators are allowed which isn’t an issue since there are full hookups at all 12 RV sites. All sites seemed relatively level. We stayed in site #5. Sites #1-4 back up to the Towhee Trail , so expect hikers to pass by close behind you. The better sites are #5-12 with #11 and #12 being the best. Not all sites were open during our visit likely due to the pandemic.

As someone else mentioned, there is a $2 per day dog fee that caught us off guard. I’m sure it must mention it on the website as it’s mentioned in the brochures they hand you when you check in. They’ll have you pay at the kiosk so be prepared.

There are plenty of easily accessible hiking and biking trails in the area. While you can get down to the lake easily, there’s no swimming for either dogs or humans. Keep in mind that if you walk the single track trails with your dogs, you’ll be spending some quality time with them later picking off ticks. Be aware of the poison oak as well.

Not sure what this campground is like during peak season, but it was a great little getaway for us during the first week of March. We’ll be back.

This campground is beautiful and at 50% of normal capacity even better! The campground is set among a grove of eucalyptus trees that offer shade, which would be really nice during summer, and a calming aroma. 

There are dry and full hook up sites. 

$35 for dry

$45 for hook ups

$8 reservation fee

$2 fee per day for each dog which is not stated when making reservations, you  are expected to pay when you arrive.

We have 3 dogs and the ranger came by and mentioned the fee though he never made us pay it. Also they do not allow visitors at this time due to Covid, campers only. There was some type of maintenance going on which had trucks frequently driving up and down the road but overall quiet. Strict rule of no check in prior to 2pm, but there is a day use area nearby to park in and hike around if you arrive early. The road up to the campground is winding with a lot of cyclists. Cell service was spotty on the way up and weak at campground but usable with our WeBoost. The road in the campground is narrow with tight turns into the sites so if you have a big rig be aware.

Other amenities:

Recycling and garbage

Bathrooms and showers

Tons of hiking and biking trails

Water and dump station available for dry campers

Fire pit, firewood for sale at kiosk for $10/bundle

Picnic tables

30 amp only

Paved parking pad, mostly level

Overall would definitely come again!

We went out to Lake Chabot this weekend for an extended family trip. First off, I think we lucked into the best sites in the place. We had sites 69-72. These four sites are down their own little loop so if your looking to do some group camping but dont want to pay for a group site, this is a great option for you. And site 69 butts up to one of the main hiking trails down to the lake. This is both good and bad. The views were amazing from these sites, but there are people walking through all day. We even had someone walk straight into our campsite with their dog to take a picture of themselves at the lake, and another person sat at one of our picnic tables to enjoy their lunch watching the lake while my entire family was sitting around them. I'm big on campsite etiquette and that left a lot to be desired here, which is why I gave 3 stars. The worst parts about this place though is that you cant swim in lake, which we knew going into it, and that you cant use your generator. Didnt make sense to me on the generator part but whatever. The eucalyptus trees were really cool and kept out the mosquitos which was amazing! If you are planning on going and want a place to swim, Cull Canyon Lagoon is a neat place and it's only 8 miles down the road (although itll take 20 mins to get there) and you need to get there by mid morning before they stop letting people in. Overall a neat place.