Anthony Chabot Regional Park

This is about as good as you can get for comfortable, fun, family car camping. Great restrooms - clean, everything in good working order, dishwashing stations, family restrooms, free showers; large, fairly shady indivdual sites; nice hiking and bike trails nearby; campfire program on Saturdays in the summer. The views are great. It's hard to believe that you're so close to a megalopolis.

We intentionally chose a site on the edge of the campground that was farther away from the others (45), and we weren't disturbed by noise at all. Some campers in other parts had problems with noise. Rangers do frequent rounds through the day and night, and calling 911 from the pay phones scattered throughout puts you through directly to the rangers.

You're also very close to Lake Chabot. You can hike down in 30-45 min. or drive to the marina on the opposite shore in 20 min. The marina is awesome in and of itself, with boat launching and rentals, a narrated boat tour, fishing, a bait shop/camp store/restaurant/snack bar that sells daily fishing licenses and rents rods, reels and tackle (and also sells soft serv ice cream!). And just five minutes past the marina is Castro Valley itself, with a Safeway, Peet's Coffee, liquor store, and Baskin Robbins depending on what your need is.

The downsides are that it swarms with people, so be prepared to dodge kids on scooters and wait to wash your dishes; you're still fairly close to civilization, so you can see Castro Valley and Hayward; and you hear gunshots all day (from the rifle range) and BART train horns throughout the night. I personally didn't mind the horns at all, but I imagine some people would.

What a difference 20 years can make! The fishing boats now have lithium batteries and a sweet, strong Minn Kota trolling motor! Military and seniors get 50, FIFTY percent off, M-F! Took my son out to look for and find Largemouth Bass, and we did! Sure you could fish for trout. Nah. The on site staff is always friendly. The park is clean and is popular. Great place for any sort of gathering. You can reserve spots for larger group. Those boats? I'll be back. It's tricky when you don't have a depth finder but dad kinda knows the species well enough. We got two. One nice, one little. Worth every penny for the boat because we weren't catching those bass without it!

I came for hiking only. I was quite impressed. Hiking trails are very well marked. Although mostly under tree cover, the scenery is beautiful. A long hike through this park will take you across some paved roads and through some camping areas. For hiking there are plenty of public bathrooms and they're all clean.

How did people follow hiking trails before GPS tracking? If you want to follow a precise combination of trails, you'll definitely need GPS tracking.

But the trail is outstanding overall. My only complaint, and I guess it really isn't a complaint, regards the number of high-speed downhill bicycles I encountered. Fortunately I am a hearing person, and I could react before the bicycle arrived. But if someone were hard of hearing or deaf or if they were wearing earbuds with loud music they would definitely be at risk of a bike collision.

Read up on the geology of this area before the hike and you will enjoy it even more. My favorite geologic fact on this hike relates to the Oakland formation. I'll let you read up on the Oakland formation yourself, but one of the interesting facts relates to the fragmented cobbles within the formation. These cobbles were allegedly fragmented by earthquake activity that sent shock waves through them when they were at depth.

The parking lot for the trailhead is shared with a golfing club. It seems pretty safe.

You will find clean public bathrooms all along the route. The route will take you across several paved roads and through a picnic area or two.

We come here one or two times every year, it's a very nice place especially so close to everything. You're in the trees and wilderness and there are wildlife and great smelling air yet you're only 20 minutes from Oakland. We have a particular spot that is a little out of the way that we love.

The problem here is that the staff does nothing about the people who do not follow the rules. We were just here again - there was a large group of people (at site 51 and 52 right across the bathroom) who were partying well past 2am. They did not play loud music at night but they were screaming and laughing and being super loud well into the early morning. I got up at 2am to pee and walked by them and was amazed at how inconsiderate these people were. I saw the sheriff drive by their camp at 10:30 and he did nothing. I can't imagine how tough it must have been to be one of the other campers near these idiots.

I mentioned this the next day the guy in the kiosk and he himself couldn't care less. He said to just call the sheriff.

And let's be clear about this group - they had a 24 hour fire going - I was wondering how much wood they had bought because wood is expensive and it turns out they were just getting wood out of the tree area, which of course, is against the rules yet again, no one cares. You could see them breaking up the branches they foraged from the woods constantly. If you were a sheriff and drove by and actually looked at them, you could see the stack of branches they had next to their fire. But no one does anything about rules here.

When they finally left, they did not put out their fire. Again, no one cares. It's just hard to believe. They have a no "water balloons" rule but there were people with water balloons in a couple places. And just to be clear, these people in sites 51 and 52 kept peeing on the seats in the bathroom. I swear the three days we were there, there wasn't a single time I didn't have to clean off the seat and flush the toilet after these people - until they left and miraculously no more pee on the seats and unflushed toilets. I see this and wonder what their bathrooms are like at home.

But this is the problem with campsites like this and Del Valle. Great places that are wrecked by selfish losers who only care about themselves and do not follow the rules.

The other thing is there are a thousand kids at this place and noise really carries. So you get the little girls who start screaming from 7am until 10pm. Constantly. The kids would bike to our campsite and play literally right in front of us, despite the fact there were numerous empty sites all over they could have went to. No parenting of any kind. And I get kids are playing but there are a thousand open spaces to play at. So if you like constant screaming kids, this is the place.

Then the last night we were there, there was some noise coming out of the distant forest that sounded like an amplified "squeaking door." Started at 10pm and was still going the next morning when we finally left. I think it was some sort of machinery but my wife thinks it was someone who was literally playing a loop of a squeaking door really loud to be a jerk (I don't know). Again, I mentioned this to the guy in the kiosk and he kind of laughed but didn't care at all.

Chabot is a wonderful campground, we do love it. But man, you get so many jerks here and the thousand screaming kids, makes it hard to come back. Would love just one weekend with people who follow the rules. Would be wonderful. We literally stopped going to Del Valle because of the jerks that are free to do as they please and it's starting to get this way here which is very sad.

I went camping here with friends and we reserved a site for 1 night ($33). The site could have up to 8 occupants but we had 5. We had so much fun that we've already planning our next trip back! It's amazing that places like this exist so close to the city. We rented all of our gear from Sports Basement (stove, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, chairs) and shared tents that people owned.

Amenities:
- Parking: It was a bit of a walk from our cars to the campsite but I brought a collapsible folding wagon so we didn't have to take too many trips back and forth from our car.
- Hammocks: I brought a hammock and was easily able to find some eucalyptus trees to hang it from.
- Vault: The campsite included a vault that we used to store food.
- Picnic Tables: There was a picnic table at our site.
- Firewood: You can buy a bundle of firewood for $10 onsite.
- Bathrooms: The bathrooms were surprisingly clean and included toilet paper and soap. There were also showers but I didn't use them since we only stayed one night.
- Trash Cans: There were some trash cans right by our campsite.
- Hiking: Anthony Chabot lake is beautiful and there are some nice hikes!

Campground review.

RV/trailer camping available in sites 1-9 and 11-12.

* full hookups (!)
* Huck's trail is shortest trail from campground to the lake. 0.58 miles down a gravel path, steep but not dangerous just a little tiring for kids on way back up. lake views are beautiful
* long spaces (stayed in #02), picnic table and steel circle firepit to rear. plenty of open space
* very quiet at night, except the occasional soft rumble from planes taking off from oakland airport
* tall birch trees provide great shade
* verizon signal spotty, 1-2 bar at campsite, 3 bars at kiosk

Camping is one of the few ways families have been keeping their balance during the pandemic, thanks to regional parks like Chabot. Once you invest in the right equipment (tents, chairs, sleeping bags and mats, stove, lamp, coffee pot, etc.) you can enjoy an inexpensive and fun outdoor experience with family and friends.

We went camping with close family last weekend - my planner extraordinaire better half had snagged a camping site a month before, seconds after the East Bay Regional Parks Department reservation site opened up for booking.

Our site was high up on a ridge, tucked away against eucalyptus trees. It was a bit cozy, but we were able to fit our two "six-person" tents (each of which actually sleeps four). We unpacked, taking advantage of the long sturdy picnic table. The ladies were happy there were clean bathrooms nearby with running water, soap, TP and electricity.

The sunset was glorious, and we settled into the evening - drinking beer and cider, toasting hot dogs and marshmallows on the fire, the kids singing, the adults chatting away. We played hearts and poker, told ghost stories late into the moonless night, and those of us less used to sleeping outdoors tried our best to get some shuteye.

In the morning, we woke up to the loud barking of dogs. It was a cool morning, and the grass smelled fresh and dewy. We started making breakfast - fresh coffee, sizzling bacon and eggs on our tiny propane stove, pre-boiled eggs and potato chips for those who didn't have the patience to wait.

Suddenly, we heard bleating! A huge flock of sheep was grazing its way through the dry grass behind our campsite! The kids were transfixed. What excitement!

A couple of hours later, it was time to pack up and head home. We drove around, making note of the other sites, already planning our next camping adventure!

Anthony Chabot Regional Park is a hidden gem of the Bay Area tucked away in East Bay. I had the pleasure of camping there for the first time last week and I enjoyed every moment of it. First off, the views are stunning as we are engulfed in eucalyptus trees. My favorite time of the day is sunset where the pink skies peep through the slender branches. The campsite was spacious and can fit 8 people easily. I liked how there is ample space between other campers as some sites are closed off due to Covid restrictions.

My friends and I played card games, sat around the campfire and told stories, cooked delicious meals, and went hiking. I enjoyed every moment of it! A perk about the campsite is that they have clean bathrooms and free hot running water for showers. No need to save up your quarters.

Stayed at the Two Rocks group camp site the other week for a few days. It's right next to a trail but still quite enough for our group. The camp site didn't have to much grass, mainly dirt. When the wind blew it got dusty fast.

There's no showers at the group site. The only pub shower is at the family camp site area. There's much more people there. At Two Rock there are no flushing toilets. There are 2 restroom close by. The rest rooms are not powered so you'll need to bring a flashlight with you if it's dark outside.

There is plenty of parking, but the road is rutted out. A car can still drive there but they have to go slow.

Note there is one water outlet there and it's has very low pressure.

Overall, it's an okay group camp site.

Having come to this campground a long time. We came here last week. OMG bugs are horrible there. We can't stay outside even near the fire pit.
Many campsites are slopes and rocky. I think that what we pay for $35 per night .
Besides that, toilet is ok and the area around is clean and safe.
But I think I won't come back.

Awesome campsite so close to the city. It a huge eucalyptus grove forest surrounding beautiful Lake Chabot. The campground sits on a ridge high above the lake so if you want to hike on over, keep in mind its about 400' down....and then up again. No elevators. Lots and lots of hiking trails. Perfect for Mt. or gravel biking too. The bike loop around the lake is about 12 miles with 1700' of climbing.

The camp sites are large and shady. Plenty of RV hook ups available (water, electric, sewage) plus lots of tent sites too. Bathrooms are clean but sparse. The one in the RV area does not have showers. Good cell coverage. Our verizon had 3 bars. No wifi.

Rangers were very friendly and got us situated. They lock the gates at night (not sure what time) but you can drive out anytime. Now that we found it, will surely be back.