Shadow Cliffs Regional Recreation Area

I am still shaken and scared about what happened today-​we have an toddler and a preschooler. After swimming as a family, we found a group of unsupervised kids playing with my childrens beach toys and their sand castles!!! As their ages ranged from 5 – 14, I was quite surprised and told them its ok to share but that they should have asked first. They actually told me everything was theirs and became belligent, at which point I told them this is not acceptable and they have to ask first. However, I still let them ‘share’. They started to take everything and my children were crying, at which point my husband told them to go somewhere else. this had lasted 30 min, with NO parent in sight. This was answered witth less than polite responses from the kids, who kept passing besides us and taunting us. A few min later, their mothers, cousins, husbands, etc, came charging at us, yelling and attacking us verbally with numous f bombs and even bodily threats were made, after we were repeatedly told to STFU. Their older sons started splashing mud towards my 1 year old! My oldest was completely traumatized, and the adults made fun of him for that. One of the mother advanced towards me threatening me and then my husband, at which point my husband asked for the lifeguards help. Most didnt even ackowledged us, the rest said there was NOTHING they could do for a ‘toy fight’ and were extemely dismissive and condescending!!! So I guess its cmmon practice there. Only when my husband asked to speak to a police officer did that family suddenly hudled together and ran the other way. The damage was done and we had to console our Sons that bad people arent everywhere. DEPLORABLE for all involved. Tahnk you for being the first people to make my Sons scared of people at the tender ages of 1 and 3.

We enjoi coming to this lake. We have a certain spot we wake up early to get there for. Last couple times no luck, but my bf caught a 9 lb trout once out of there. This lake is stocked with fish. Beautiful views, fun times and great for kids too

Hot and there is duck poop everywhere!!! But went there to see my nephew at the Outrigger Regatta competitions.

Very nice trail. We went with kids and had lot of fun. Picnic areas are well mentained and the vuew from top is mesmerizing

Located right off on Stanley Blvd, this recreational area has everything an outdoors person could ever want! Lake for fishing and swimming, boat rentals, picnic areas with bbq pits.
My experience today wasn’t the best, due to the doggy waterfront area. Two issues came up, first being a fisherman illegally fishing in an area clearly marked no fishing. Which happens to be where the dogs are allowed off leash to play in the water. So he kept getting upset when our dogs would play. Maybe he can’t read?
My second, and biggest issue. If you have an aggressive dog, leave it at home! As I was getting ready to leave, a large male chocolate lab came up and tried to mount my dog. I tried to separate, and the owner was completely oblivious. When I finally did get them apart, the dog snarled at me and went for my clothes to bite. I hit the dog, and asked whose it was. The lady was on her cellphone not even paying attention! Seriously? Handle your dog, and take it home.
Other than that, parking fee is $ 6 as of now, and to bring a dog it’s an additional $ 2. I love bringing my lab here, if you haven’t checked out the trails, you need to!

I LOVE taking my puppy here! This is an off leash park and I find it easiest to park in the back! The free back entrance is located on Park Access Road which is just south of the park if you look at a map. The closest address is 651 Clara Ln, Pleasanton, CA 94 566. This takes you right to the entrance to the dog park area. There is this little shore area that I love taking my puppy to. Dogs can run and jump in, it’s very fun.

4 stars for the sand, proximity to Pleasanton center. 2 stars for the many ducks who poop in the water.

Just returned from going here on a Monday afternoon with a friend and our dogs. We walked the obvious trail along the water, but things got more interesting when we climbed to the top and then walked down the trails on the other side. It was extremely quiet and mellow in there, plus it was pretty. We saw water lilies, lots of geese, blue jays, small bodies of water, trees, etc. It was a lovely surprise and we got in some nice exercise. Not sure what it’s like on weekends, but it was a nice walk on a weekday.

The atmosphere is perfect however the employees here are the reason I won’t be returning. Poor attitudes and rude.

This place was a great place for me that created many priceless moments with my friends. The most priceless moment i had was when the LittleIrishBoy met his LittleIrishPrincess as well as his «Das Baby» which is the same attractive person but with a sexy nationality character: D. However Injustice was in the air D: whenever Baby’s and Irish Princesses are involved, there is always the Injustice of pasty Nazi Lifeguards ready to poop on our party. they oppress us with rules and constantly stare at us, we couldnt even swim in the deep end because those assholes said it was against their fascist Hitler policy, we couldnt carry each other on our shoulders, they were jealous that our tower was better than theres. We might as well wear the star of David on Our Heads because we were treated like jews at a concentration camp. Until the clock struck six, then those buttholes disappeared from our lives forever. We were happy that those Nazis left and we partied like it was 1999: P

I am only reviewing Dog Beach, the very dog-​friendly beach and lake, just south of Shadow Cliffs Lake. You can walk there from Shadow Cliff’s parking lot, but to avoid paying for park entrance, drive on Vineyard Ave, south of the park, and turn onto the road opposite Clara. Called Park Entrance, but there is no street sign, maybe the home owners take it down?
Park on the shoulder, go thru the gate, and follow the dirt path, across the concrete bridge, and go right along the lake to the beach. There will be many people with dogs off leash, so easy to find. The beach is sandy and the water is shallow for 20 feet, sometimes a couple dogs chasing tennis balls, sometimes a dozen. People and dogs are generally friendly. Benches and garbage cans. If you need a bathroom, climb over the berm and use Shadow Cliffs’ facilites.

I went kayaking with my chocolate Lab today and was told not to let my dog swim in the lake. I wondered why but did not ask because I was going to let him swim anyway. I then noticed trash all along the banks and under water. The lake would be better off without humans. What harm can a dog pose to a large body of water. He just swims. It makes no sense. Just another stupid rule.

I was really enjoying this place until I had a horrible employee interaction. I was there today for a company event and we decided to rent a couple of paddle boats. We got two groups of 4 together and went to pay for the boats. The man looked at us and said that my group was to heavy «fat» for the boat and we had to go in groups of two but the second group of 4 was fine. We asked what the weight limit was and he said 500lbs. I asked if 3 could go in one since we are not 250lbs each and he still said no, we are too heavy. I do realize that we are some curvy cuties but to assume our weight is uncalled for. I have never felt fat until today and I am horrified to think that he does this to people on a regular basis. Oh and btw paddle boats can hold 825lbs and when I went on one a few weeks about at Almaden Lake we didn’t sink.

This is the best lake in the area. It beats all the local parks! There are all sorts of plants that make the trails so beautiful. Fishing. Dogs, paddle boats, and kayaks make this an amazing place to relax in!

I really love this park! The backside of this park is always clean and well cared for. A perk of the park is that they allow dogs. There is even a spot were the dogs are allowed in the water! Good for fishing and is usually full with water since it is man made. They even have some boats and kayaks available to rent. If you rent a kayak on a weekday they give you a discount. The only complaint I have is that on the side of the park that faces Stanley Blvd gets pretty dirty from time to time with swimmers, geese, and people BBQ’ing. All in all a fun little park that we will keep coming to.

Awesome for trout and bass fishing. The back lakes really have some lunkers in them waters.

What a great little oasis! It is definitely a great place to come out with children as there is do much to see and explore. My children (4 and 15 months) had a blast waddling and splashing in the water as well as to watch the fishies swimming. They played with sand, mud, shells and just had a blast. I can see getting very hot as there are no shades but that just means you need to come here more prepared! It’s not a hotel resort :-p
For 6 $ I will definitely come back and let my children cool down and have fun.

E Coli in the water ! Be warned. Suffered 2 weeks of stomach problems. Treated with antibiotics.
I understand its due to the drought and probably poor water quality however I didn’t realize how bad it was, even after the water was supposedly treated. Be careful.
This happened after I swam in the water during the Tri 4 Fun event.

Today’s visit gets one star (doggy area and employee interaction)
We watched the employees drive from gate to gate in their cart trying to find the hidden cash money (the guy on twitter who hides money decided to hide it here, he tweeted a few minutes after we arrived). Very annoying. Police and News station came barging in. I was trying to relax with my dog ! Waste of 8 dollars I paid to get in. Thank You @hiddencash for kinda ruining the limited time I do have with my dog .
The main reason why I am giving them one star is because of the gal who was working at the entrance. I go here twice a week with my dog, each time it cost $ 8 to get in ($ 6 car $ 2 dog) I wanted to pay the $ 50 membership fee for the year and she told me its better off if I do it online because she is not sure how to do it properly, and that she is afraid the other East Bay Parks won’t accept the membership if I pay there. I’m not sure why she didn’t take my money, nor am I sure why it is so difficult to set it up at the park entrance. Last week when I was there, the other girl made it sound so simple and she was so informative. Clearly there was an issue of knowledge and training with the employee who was working there today .
Honestly the dog area (water /​sand access) is about 8 feet wide. I can’t justify the cost for dogs or the amount of space they give the dogs to play in. There was another dog there today, and it is literally to small for two dogs to play in (the area directly across from the dog poop bags and trash can)
If my dog wasn’t allergic to chlorine we would never go here. I might occasionally stop by here after I visit family in Ruby Hills but will no longer make an effort to go here. The trails are not good either, you don’t get a real burn in your thighs when you walk /​hike. It’s all flat, there are no hills that go up hill or down hill.
Extremely disappointed today.

Shadow Cliffs is really a great place for families. The sand is not too rough but can get a bit hot on days that hit 85 degrees or hotter. There are life guards but would recommend water shoes for kids as the bottom of the water can be rough. Admission is $ 6.00 per car. There is plenty of places to enjoy the sand and there are several benches for BBQs or parties with several areas offering shady trees to stay cool. If the heat is too much for some, I’d recommend a large umbrella or small tent if you plan to be here more than a few hours.