SUNDAY DRIVE
Shadow Cliffs Lake
What you'll see: Shadow Cliffs Lake allows fishing and boating, which you can’t do much at the lakes in San Francisco, Marin County and the Peninsula. It is nestled in a steep-sided pocket, a site overlooked by many outside their 10-mile bubble. As fall takes hold, with night in the high 40s, surface temperatures have cooled to allow the first trout plants in six months. A small marina rents kayaks, other selfpowered boats and fishing boats with electric motors.
Location: Shadow Cliffs is in Pleasanton, about a mile from downtown and a short distance from I 580 off Stanley Boulevard.
The park: The centerpiece at Shadow Cliffs Regional Park is the 80-acre lake. Back in the day, it was one of several small reservoirs in the area used as part of a quarry system. The East Bay Regional Park District purchased it in 1971 for $250,000. It became part of a 265-acre park.
Cost: $6 entry per vehicle, $2
per dog, $5 per trailered vehicle, $3 per car-top boat or inflatable, $2 per sailboard.
Fishing: The park district stocked Shadow Cliffs Lake with trout in each of the past two weeks, 750 pounds and 1,000 pounds, respectively. That’s enough to jump-start the fall trout season there. From shore, use bait, two-hook rigs with chartreuse-colored Power Nuggets. By boat, troll with Needlefish. There is also a sprinkling of big bass; an 8-pounder is the biggest this month, caught by Gabreil Rezendez, from a float tube in the Arroyo. For bass, use Senkos, Texas-style.
Boating: Shadow Cliffs allows small boats and has a small rental fleet. No boats over 17 feet. No gas motors; electric motors are OK. Launch fees: $5 for trailered boats, $3 for cartop boats or inflatables; float tubes, inner tubes free. Inspection required for mussels.
Boat rentals: Usually until the weather turns (arbitrary closure date by concessionaire), a small marina rents kayaks, paddleboats, rowboats and boats with electric motors; (925) 426-0197, www.rocky mountainrec.com.
Picnic hideaway: The adjacent arroyo is part of a matrix of other smaller waters, once part of the quarry waterways. Other than float tubes, no boating or swimming is permitted. A short walk can lead to a quiet spot for a water-view picnic.
Contact: Shadow Cliffs Regional Recreation Area, (888) 327-2757, option 3, ext. 4557; East Bay Regional Park District, www.ebparks.org.
HOW TO GET THERE
GPS: 2500 Stanley Boulevard, Pleasanton
From San Francisco: Take the Bay Bridge east (stay to the right) to the split and Interstate 580. Bear right on I-580 (stay to the far right) and drive 28 miles (continue east on I-580 at the interchange with Interstate 680) to Pleasanton and the exit for Santa Rita Road (toward Tassajara Road). Take that exit for 0.2 of a mile, keep right at the fork (signed for downtown), merge with Santa Rita Road and drive 1.7 miles to Valley Avenue. Turn left and drive 1.1 miles to Stanley Boulevard. Turn left on Stanley and go 0.7 of a mile to the park entrance on the right.
Distances: 1 mile from downtown Pleasanton, 5 miles from Livermore, 7 miles from Dublin, 25 miles from Walnut Creek, 37 miles from San Mateo, 38 miles from San Francisco, 44 miles from Vallejo, 51 miles from San Rafael.