This park is small and I finished the whole loop within an hour. The swimming area was closed due to covi-19. I would skip this park and go a few miles down south to Don Castro which is a much nicer park. However, Cull Canyon does have a really nice area for picnicking. Hiking is not so great here. The park borders a lot of residential areas so you feel you have not left home. Also you will end up hiking next to the road for a big portion of the trail. Overall easy for hiking with some steep areas. Check it out if you are curious.

These photos are of my son and I taking his son (French Bulldog) Buschemi for a walk after almost 2 months in quarantine May 2, 2020. Cull Canyon is our go to park and its peacefully hidden in Castro Valley with great walking trails for this crazy frenchie to explore.

Love it. Clean safe amazing trails. And easy access . near 580 freeway . live it love it love it

I wish their bathroom stayed open as long as the park was open just saying it would be nice

Cull canyon is very dense, therefore, it is very cool in temperature. Its a beautiful hike. I love it because it is not very cowarded. My dog loves to run these hills.

An Amazing Loong Trail to get Lost in for Many Hours

Nice park. Great place for family reunion,and activities are available.

Most of places/trails are blocked due to COVID-19.

Nice, but really busy, & every hour you have to get out of the water for 15 minutes. They do have showers which is nice.

This place has it all. There are some barbecue grills with picnic tables that are first come first served. On weekends be sure to be there early. The water is a little cool, but on hot summer days it is perfect. There is a separate area for kids to swim in and more confident swimmers can take a swim test to be able to swim outside of the roped off area. No glass is allowed there so make sure you pack whatever drinks and food in containers that are not glass.

What a family oriented place, its a jewel. Love the staff, so professional. Great location and plenty of parking lot.Thank you

Lovely wooded areas and glorious vistas. Worth the trek!

Loved this spot. Great swimming area for kids along with BBQ grills. Parking is little tight.

$2.50 for kids 2-15 $3.50 for 16-55 and seniors pay a discount as well. Packed on weekends, but still areas to hang out. Lots of life guards on duty with life jackets you can borrow and snorkel gear for anyone to use. Open from 11-530. They have showers and the water is cold but not freezing. Changing are, BBQ pits, in and out access and friendly park workers. The water is filtered which is a big plus. I totally recommend coming here. They do have vending machines as well.

Very friendly people, swimming area is $3.50 adults and $2.50 kids up to 16 years old.

Its cute, family fun place, looks like a little beach.

A little hard to find, but does have a huge free parking lot. Otherwise not too many picnic areas and very little open space. Great steep hikes though. Nice neighborhood.

We recently stayed here during the kids Spring Break for a few days. We had a good time with the beautiful spring weather. This campground has full hook ups, but no shade. It is just bare dirt and concrete. We liked the kids play area being so close where we could keep a close eye on them. The park has a very nice covered patio picnic table area and a large grass field. We flew kites, played games. We were able to have a camp fire at night. The hosts were nice but strict. Summertime it gets really hot there and there is no water feature or pool.

Great swimming, sandy beach, lots of bbq areas, grass lawn. Man made, large swimming area with a diving dock. No marked lanes, but big enough to swim laps if you go beyond the ropes. Responsible lifeguards. I enjoy this place.

Swim area is a lovely fake lake, filtered, life-guarded and (Im guessing) lightly chlorinated. Sandy beach, lawns. Some shade. Free parking but Admission charged per person by East Bay Regional Park. No dogs. Theres an admission-free non-swim area. Your park membership gets you in free.

I liked that it was small in comparison to some of the other regional parks Ive visited. The man made lake was nice. I appreciated there being life guards. It is very clean, even the bathroom.

This place use to be great 20 years ago. The started to take things away. The diving board is no longer here. It gets way too crowded. Never coming back again

The park isnt what it .they drainednthe lake. Now its a marshland. Habitat. I still wish they would refill cull canyon lake.

Overall decent place. Kids enjoy. Showers, rest rooms, sand and lawn area. Entrance is a bit of a walk from parking but all in all a good place.

Such an asome place for family on a hot summer day. Appreciate the lifeguard on duty. The price isnt bad, $2.50/children under and senior. $3.50/adult.

Love this setting and the safety for the young and beginner swimmers!

Love to come here on the weekends and plus its free only on fridays for everybody

Love this place! Nice and cheap place to cool down on a hot day. Life guards and plenty of places to set up your canopy.

Great place to have a picnic, bbq, birthday party etc. Really nice lake for swimming. Nice trails for hiking. Really pretty place.

Cull Canyon was quiet, with scenic views. The day we decided to return was the Cull Canyons Anniversary, free all day. However, the prices were always reasonable, it was a quite blissful day.

Man made beach, close to home and its only a few bucks to get in. Its great when its not too crowded. Weekdays are the best days to come. Come early and you can grab a good spot. There are picnic tables, bbq grills, grass areas and sandy areas. Bring your beach gear, chairs, umbrellas, blankets, etc... You can bring in your own food and drinks, no alcohol or glass containers though. Thats a deal breaker for some folks, but this is a FAMILY spot, so its probably not for you if youre a drinker....or smoker. Ha. 4 stars cause the bathrooms could be cleaner, but I dont think they dont clean them throughout the day.

This place is beautiful but you cant swim the way you want and there are many more rules that are ridiculous I dont really recommend this place! A lot of water got into my mouth when I was doing the only stroke that is permitted!!

A beautiful and clean swimming area. We always spend a few hours here.

A fun family-friendly location and a great place to cool off in the summer. Lifeguards are on duty and a large swimming area for kids. Deeper side of lagoon is for adults. Surrounded by pines, bring beach umbrella for shade.

Super family friendly, safe, crowded on hot days but so inexpensive and fun its worth the crowd!

So fun. I swam to the dock. 11 ft deep waters. I love it

Small cute lake to enjoy. Water temperature is warm compare to beach water thats why Kids can actually go inside lake and can have some fun on sand too. Good place for picnic. They also have cabanas. If you want good spot be there by 10am.

My dog and I live to be out in nature its a peaceful place

This place is awesome! Born and raised in San Leandro just found out about this place! We loved it! Youll Have to reserve a spot if youd like to grill out and 0=+)) who wants these gummies

Excellent place for your kids . Close proximity inside when they are swimming. Sandy beach. Lawn area , tables . Bbq. Areas too. Love Cull Canyon

Nice place. But it will be crowded on weekends. Go as early as possible so that you can get a nice spot under the tree shades.

Great local park! There are not so many open fields, but the meadow which replaced the lake is fascinating to watch as it develops.

Beautiful very peaceful setting

This is a great place to take children. Because of its location, the weather is almost always fantastic.

My son and I love this place. Its well-maintained in the beaches are really fun for kids.

Relaxing $3 person kinda high when you dont have enough places where people can eat and sit

Cheap family fun. Kids love it here, bring snacks for a fun filled day

Is great place to take the kids. Is family oriented.

It was a great experience with the grand kids first time there its my new spot for me and my family

Excellent place to cull off. friendly stuff. but, get too crowded sometimes.

We had a great day of swimming and lots of fun...

Beautiful swimming area , sand pit for volleyball, and barbecue pitts . Its a wondwrful spot to ha e family gatherings!

I just love castro valley. .

Great area for the family to take a dip! Went on the 4th of July and had to wait 1 hour to get in. Otherwise we had a ball!

I loved the place but the lake is tiny and the only tgoing I didnt like is that you have to get out of the water every hour for break other than that I really like and would go back

Love this place. Serene, beautiful, clean, and super affordable.

Nice park with swimming facility and life guards on duty.. opens at 11 am

Check this one out..very very nice..i am sure you will enjoy it with family.

Enjoyable for the whole family. Great place to relax by the water. People start lining up an hour prior to the gate opening to get a prime spot. Be aware they will check your coolers to ensure you do not bring in any form of glass or alcohol inside the water park area. You may consume your alcohol outside the gate in the picnic area.

Great place for kids to play in the water and parents can join in the water fun

I am from Southern California and would visit my best friend who lived in Castro Valley when our kids were young. She took us there each time we visited and it became our annual beach day in Northern California. I have so many fond memories of this man made lagoon. What a great idea!!! Kudos to the genius or geniuses who thought of doing this!

Beautiful swimming hole and picnic/recreation area. Its pay to swim.There are some trails around the swim area and surrounding areas amongst the houses.The trail around is more of an advanced skill level, especially up behind the paid swimming area. However, if youre brave enough to walk it, there are several cherry trees along the trail thsy make it worth it.

Very nice for family gathering or special occasion. This is a man-made lagoon with nice white sand. Perfect for children. There are a part of the lagoon thats deep so keep your little ones away from it. Anyway several staff are scattered in the area to make sure everyone are safe.

Good place for a good BBQ with the family .

Nice place to take small children. I like that there are lifeguards on duty. They let you borrow life jackets. The place is clean and alcohol free. It sucks that they close at 5:30 and the overflow parking should just be paved with designates parking spaces instead of just dirt and 1 way to get in or out.

Its a good swiming area. Man made but looks natural

A great spot to have fun with your family

Gorgeous setting, well-maintained, great family fun day!

Love this place! Been coming here since I was a kid, and it has definitely changed for the better. Staff keeps it clean, everyone is nice, and they have plenty of lifeguards on duty.

I like the place but would like a ranger on site at all times

Its barbecue grill was too small for the amount of table set for parties or gatherings Location is hidden not you C access or signs to find facility

My tax dollars paying for trails I can’t use but rich people can have their horses carry them around on them.

This is a great place to relax.

Nice place to swim and spend time with the family

Great place to go with toddler. Clean water and clean beach. Lots of bins and tables. 3.50 from adult and 2.50 for 3yo. Very nice place. Pity that it is not sand there. Would be perfect then.

Getting more and more crowded. Not enough lifeguards. Doesnt seem as clean anymore.

We hada blast there today its changed so much since I was a kid but changed for the better I must say...

The website showed a map with a lake and gave information about swimming which included dogs. When I got there however, there was a newly-built swimming area with no dogs allowed. The lake didnt even exist. However, this is just my experience and the families and children seem to be having a lot of fun inside the gate where we couldnt go!

Castro Valley gem!Great for family picnics!

Nice recreational water park

A large park with a man-made beach park, which is great for families. Lots of picnic facilities, and trails if you want to walk around. Also has lots of plums trees and berries on the upper trail.

Lots of tables, lifeguards, and its totally inexpensive.

I wasnt at cull canyon. I went for a jog AROUND Cull Canyon. Google is still LAME when it comes to DETAILING where youve been.

Nice walkable park.

We come here to do some hiking with our pups. There is normally nobody doing the trails here. Its mostly used for BBQs and to enjoy the lagoon.

Takes students here for school wide summer trip

A good place for swimming and sanding, but too small. Besides the beside lake doesnt exist.

Needs help Lagoon was closed due to season..but the Trail reflected on map it went through we found a locked old gate and could not even see the second larger lake for no swimming as it showed on ebrp trail map. They need more funding. Local parks and trails. No fee for access...but limited out of season.Saw ebrp PD leave upon arrival. Good to see on a Sunday. Will revisit and re-review in Spring.

Cull Canyon Regional Rec Area is a man-made lake/beach in the middle of Castro Valley. It is very family friendly. The deeper areas are sectioned off via rope and you must pass a swimming test to traverse into the deeper sections. There are lots of lifeguards. No alcohol. No glass containers.I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because the sandy area is just OK. Its not super soft and there can be lots of goose poop around. So watch out!

Great place to spend time with your kids. Safe to swim. Better go early to catch a good spot.

No crowds!

Great spot to have a BBQ/picnic. You also have the option to swim in their lagoon which costs up to $3.50 to get in. Get there early to claim a spot. Bring a volley ball as there is a court set up. You can also hike around the lake. Lots of things to there!

Great little swimming hole in Castro Valley.

I love it very clean

There was a middle aged security person at the entrance, who was so unkind to the visitors. I really felt bad at his attitude. this beach is nice for one day out. You can do barbeque and spend a good time with family and friends

Pool with sand beaches! One of only 2 places like this in San Francisco Bay area. Jump into the water from special board. Fun for families with kids! Welcome!

I love coming here Friday mornings just me and my puppy I love the nature the smells of the eucalyptus trees its one of my favorite spots in Castro Valley just to kind of explore the little mini Forest around here

Nice clean beach like atmosphere. Family friendly and good value.

No hiking trails.very small park

Nice small park with a trail loop where I like to walk my dog when I dont have the time for a long walk.