Lafayette Reservoir - Contra Costa County, California

Visited on 3/10/2019, Jeff and I took a drive with our pups, Summer and Skye to the San Francisco Bay Area to take a tour of all of the lakes in Contra Costa County and a couple in Alameda County.  The third lake we visited was in the City of Lafayette and is named so.  Jeff and I have both spent time at this lake in the past.  Jeff’s parents lived in a nearby town of Moraga for over 30 years and Jeff and his parents came to this lake for evening walks with the dog.  I attended a Gap Headquarters company summer picnic when I worked for the Gap Headquarters in 1987-88.  This beautiful 126 acre lake at an elevation of 459 feet above sea level is an open-cut man-made terminal water storage reservoir owned and operated by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD). Completed in 1933, it was intended solely as a standby water supply for EBMUD customers. EBMUD opened the reservoir for public recreation in 1966. It is located off of California State Route 24 and a mile from the Lafayette BART station, in Contra Costa County, California. This all-year, day-use area is ideal for hiking, jogging, fishing, boating and picnicking. The reservoir is on the Lafayette-Orinda border. The reservoir is on a 925-acre site and holds 1.4 billion gallons of water.

Construction of Lafayette Reservoir began in 1928, as an earth-filled structure for the dam. The fill was installed very rapidly.  This was apparently too fast for the clay foundation, because as the concrete apron was being poured, the foundation began to move downhill. The dam reportedly settled, displacing the structure 200 yards from the toe of the dam.

EBMUD engineers had to quickly redesign the project, first by reducing the reservoir capacity to one-third of its original design. Then they delayed further construction by three years, to see whether more settling would occur. The design change was apparently satisfactory, and the dam was completed in 1933.

Rowboats and pedal boats can be rented. Private rowboats, canoes, kayaks and small sailboats are allowed if carried atop an auto (no gasoline engines).

The main trail around the reservoir is a 2.7-mile paved footpath named the Lakeside Trail; the 4.5-mile Rim Trail is a more challenging dirt hiking path through the surrounding hills.

Families, groups and companies can reserve picnic areas holding 50 or 200 people. Many individual tables and barbecues accommodate smaller groups. A large play area offers lively fun for children. The park has restrooms and a disabled-access fishing dock with adjacent parking.

An observation tower built at the southwestern corner of the lake was left unchanged when the dam was redesigned. Thus, the tower seems too tall for its intended use. The top is accessible only by scaling metal rungs embedded in its side. Therefore, the tiny observation booth is almost always deserted, and the antique doors have turned green from oxidation.