Los Vaqueros Reservoir & Watershed

For my birthday last year, I asked my brother-​in-​law if he could teach me how to fish. He agreed and started planning out all the equipment and licenses we would need. He did such a great job and picked the perfect spot for my first time fishing. At Los Vaqueros Reservoir, the water is pristine and you can rent boats or fish from the banks. When you drive in, all you see is hills after hills — it’s breathtaking and puts you in a mindset of a retreat from everything else.
When we got to the visitors center, we were warmly greeted by an enthusiastic staff member. My brother-​in-​law already had all the poles and had purchased garlic ball bait beforehand, but we paid for our licenses here ($ 5 for the daily access permit and $ 15.12 for the CA 1-​day sport fishing license) and bought frozen anchovies and were set for a day of fishing. We found a little spot away from the others and set up our chairs there.
After a couple lessons on how to cast, my sister and I got the hang of it and settled down to wait. We came prepared with plenty of snacks and reading. We caught a fish, and it was exciting reeling it in. I would definitely recommend this location for fishing because the scenery is so peaceful and lovely that time passes by so quickly when you’re here!

A Sunday afternoon road trip took me to Los Vaqueros Reservoir (Livermore entrance).
Visiting on a sunny and cool February afternoon, the hills were amazingly green and the water was super blue — WOW!!! I love the Bay Area!
So…
$ 6 entrance fee, tons of people fishing (looked REALLY BORING) and the weird odor of dead fish.
At least the windmills of Altamont drew our attention elsewhere. After a :30 minute visit, I was ready to roll. The views were awesome, the road and facilities perfectly maintained.
4 stars at the right time of year, negative stars in the summer when it’s 106 degrees, rattlesnakes roaming about and no shade to be found in the HOT landscape.
I enjoyed my brief visit — you figure out the star count yourself depending on when you visit and what you are hoping for.
4 stars on a sunny, 68* February day…

This place is legit. I go to lakes to fish; not to bbq, picnic, run, socialize, let kids shit their pants, or play weak ass volleyball. There is none of that at Vaqueros– just fishing– and not far from the perils of the over populated Bay Area. I go there for the strippers. Oops I meant Stripers. The big boy that fight well and are not bad on the tastebuds (nothing like nasty ass catfish). Plenty of fish in various species in an environment fit for fishing. No screaming shitting kids. 2 of 10 visitors will speak English, but the marina staff is knowledgable and facilities are up to date and sanitary. Only complaint would be the close too early, and if that’s my only complaint you know this fishing hole is satisfactory. So come here, pay your parking fees so they can keep the gates open, and get your line in the water. Glad this hole is filled with water.

Good place to go with family and friend. Clean. Tue~thu 50% off 16′ electric motor boat rental. Nice size trout… Striper

Los vaqueros is a beautiful place to visit. You have the opportunity to BBQ, fish, clean your fish, hike and take a boat ride. They have beautiful landscaping and clean facilities. The restrooms were extremely clean which shocked me, other places have dirty restrooms that you do not want to stand in period. They sell lots of tackle and bait inside which is good incase you forget something. The staff and other park visitors are all friendly, which makes the experience even better. I almost had to walk a half mile to fish but the gate attendant informed me on a different way to get to the lake so I ended up not having to walk more than 30 feet, I appreciated that very much. Los vaqueros is one of my favorite lakes to visit to fish

I only give this place 2 stars for it’s beauty. But this place is dead, well at least on the day we came. There were people one the left and right of us further away and neither of us caught anything. We showed up and waited before the place opened. So we started fishing at 6am and by 2pm we were too tired and hot to go on. We would have stayed if there were any hints of fish in the water, but absolutely nothing! No nibbles or bites. My husband was casting out pretty far too. We hiked a little further, like a mile or two away from the main docks into this big body of water. There seemed to be not as much wildlife as we were expecting. It’s definitely scenic and nice for a picnic with friends or family. The location is beautiful, but its pretty dead as far as wildlife & fishing goes. The water is pretty clean and I thought I’d be able to see some small fishes or something in the water, we even trekked a bit to explore, but it was deader than the dead sea… So i’m not sure why people were raving so much about the plethora of fish in the reservoir. Fishing is usually hit or miss, but it didn’t seem like there was any life in the water.

Awesome place to go fishing! You can fish from a boat or off shore. I went with my girlfriends and on our first trip, each of us caught at least one trout. They keep this reservoir nicely stocked with fish. The daily fishing liscense is only $ 15. Parking is $ 5. You can buy an annual liscense here too ($ 45). There’s a cleaning station, nice bathrooms, BBQ pits, and a little bait shop at the office.
You cannot BBQ off shore. Only at the pits near the office. Bring a hat, sunglasses, chairs, a table, food, and drinks. Some parking spots are on dirt so bring the truck or one you don’t mind getting dirty.
Poles already set up are available at the office to borrow. Put down a credit card to hold it and return it by 4:30 PM. The park closes at 5 PM.

Loved it here! Truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve visited.
Stayed in livermore for a week and looked up things to do in the area, and this popped up and I’m glad :) nice drive up north about 20 minutes. Breathtaking scenery. And friendly staff.

This place sucks too preppy for me limited restrooms I could not even ride my mountain bike on the park premises what the hell??? I was told from staff that I could not ride my bike on the premises are you kidding me, this place looks and feels like an amusement park no alcohol allowed no bike riding limited public access to areas in the park there are restrictions up the wazoo, this is not my style of enjoying the outdoors I like to feel I am out in the elements this park has to many restrictions to even come close I will not be coming back place sucks period oh and the fishing is hit or miss your better of going to Lake Del Valle in Livermore its more kick back out there and old fashion camping/​fishing beer drinking at your campsite. SF Bay area fishermen for the past 35 years

The Marina store will have anything you may have forgotten. I purchased what I needed and I wasn’t price gouged. Staff on site when I was there were helpful and courteous.

The fishing here is great! They plant mostly trout and lately they been planting catfish. But what I’m here for are the stripers! We usually are here early to get a good spot, the fishing deck at the marina is a really good spot but you can fish on the sides too as well. This place looks absolutely beautiful since they remodeled and added the marina. Now you can rent boats here. The employees are usually nice and helpful. Great place for fishing, hiking, or a picnic. The only downside is have to pay for a fishing permit but it’s only $ 4.50.

Bad place… You have to pay for fishing here and fee for parking lot. The cashier is nice but the the employee that works on the deck is so rude.
The last time i was here like last year and it was under construction. They were rebuild the deck and it was no boat to rent…
Got here at 7 – 8 am… It was packed. All the good spots are taken

I love this place. I came here to fish and always had fun. I usually catch something but its the service that is impressive. From the cashier in the Marina to the boat rental employees. They are very friendly and profession. I fish a lot and have been to a lot of parks and this is the only place worth reviewing.

Best… fishing… ever haha

A very clean, watershed and day use recreation facility owned by Contra Costa county.
Los Vaqueros Reservoir has many miles of hiking trails. Mostly it is a great place to fish. It does cost some money to park. And some extra money to fish. No camping or private boats allowed. You can only rent boats for fishing or pleasure.
This place is clean probably because of its restricted use. I will definitely go back.