The hills to the east of Oakland provide a great opportunity to build reservoirs. Supplying the Bay Area with water is a big deal so the reservoirs are in important pat of the local infrastructure. Damming a valley is no simple feat but, once done, a substantial quantity of water can be held. Of course, this also makes a nice spot to hang out.

We took a trip to the Lafayette reservoir. It has trails and picnic areas around the water. Originally we had intended to walk around the whole thing. However, they had a facility for renting pedalos and rowing boats so we decided to go out on the water instead. Off we went in our pedalo. The rules were quite amusing. Absolutely no way we were to touch the water. I know the water will be used for public consumption but I don’t think the local wildlife is so bothered about what it does in the water. The water quantity is huge so there is no risk but you would think we were going to have some sort of toxic impact if we touched the water with a hand. Oh well.

They obviously don’t want you getting too close to the water inlets but you can get pretty close to the dam structure in the boat. (You park on top of the dam so you are really close then!). The dam looks a lot more impressive from the surface of the water. Given what a lovely day it was when we there, I was surprised how few people were there. I’m not complaining since it meant it was quiet for us.