Cull Canyon

Growing up in the East Bay I am shocked that I have never been here. This park is super nice! It has benches and tables. There is even a horse shoe set up and a volley ball court. Not to mention there is a lake area. WOW!
I came during a early spring day and was able to enjoy the park with not too many visitors. It was nice sitting under one of the trees for a picnic.
It was super cool walking to the park over the little bridge, it makes this place feel special and secluded even when this seems to be a popular spot for the summer.

This is a great place, so quite. They have places for bbq and even a outdoor swimming. It was closed when we were there but so relaxing.

shady walk to the lagoon
water not clear

Attended a toddler birthday party here, and it was our first visit. Got to the place at just about noon on a warm July Sunday, and the parking lot was getting full, but there was still space. Not too long of a walk from the parking lot to the entrance.
Pros:
–Inexpensive. Free parking and admission for my daughter and I was $ 6 together.
–Lots of shaded picnic tables, I assume they need to be reserved.
–Large grassy lawn area and little sandy beach as well
–Shallow water for the little ones
–Pretty clean bathrooms, considering it was a busy summer weekend
–Changing table in the bathroom if you need one
Cons:
–No concessions. Bring your own food/​water!!! Or else you will be left having to smell other people’s yummy BBQ
–Lifeguards make all the kids under age 15(?) get out of the water for 15 minutes every hour to take a break. This gives them time to reapply sunscreen, drink water, and quit horsing around too much in the water. All good things, I just wish the breaks were only about 10 minutes, or a bit less frequent.
–Later in the afternoon, some young adults were playing a rough game of hacky sack, and their hacky sack kept flying into the toddler birthday party we were attending, nearly hitting the one of the kids in the face.
Perfect place to come with young kids for a ‘beach’ experience without having to drive a long way. Bring a bucket/​shovel to build sandcastles.

Place looks nice but very crowded in the weekends. The water is also very filthy. You can see many ghetto people there not watching their children so the lifeguards have to constantly keep telling the kids to get out of the deep end and questioning them about their parent’s whereabouts. Guess that’s why the staff looks fed up all day, I feel bad for them.

This is the WORST place I’ve ever tried to ‘swim’ in my life. I would rather swim around at the bottom of a well before returning here. If you are a child, however, since you are probably used to 10 – 20 adults yelling at you for every little thing you’re unconsciously doing wrong, then you will have a normal (and most likely fun) time. If you are an adult who has no children, do NOT go here. There is absolutely no swimming in the lake beyond being able to walk along the shoreline, up to chest-​level, as the 10 lifeguards consistently reminded me of; even during the times where I thought I was obeying them — trying to get to the diving platform. There was seemingly no way to do anything correctly here and the amount of actual swimming is little to none. The ‘lake’ is most likely chlorinated and there is no alcohol allowed. That being said, if you have children, this is going to be a pretty cool place for you. You can drink on the picnic tables outside and the entrance fee is $ 3.50 per adult.

Finally get to go there with my kids, it’s a really nice place to go on these kind of HOT weather! $ 3.50 for adult, $ 2.50 for kids over 1 year old, not bad at all, I’m so happy to find a man make beach like this so close to me, definitely will go again!

Great place to take the little kids to play. It’s not a beach but close. Great thing, there are life guards. It does cost money to get in. Also, nice picnic tables under trellises.

This is a great park for family fun! Its my third time here & I enjoy the swimming area more than the park/​trail area. If you want to swim, adults are $ 3.50 & kids are $ 2.50 cash only! & you will receive a wristband that will allow you to walk in & out of the gates to the lake. If you come early enough, there are areas for people to host parties! You should call ahead though to reserve. You’re not allowed styrofoam & glass in this area. For this area too, There are life guards ready. The lifeguards occasionally have everyone leave the lake for about 2mins (not to sure why) & then return to the lake. You’re allowed to bring beach toys! Bathrooms are clean & there are plenty of stalls! There’s stalls to shower, change, wash your hands & use the toilets.
The park/​trail area is a dirt path with plenty of tables as well. It’s spacious too! If you reserve here, you can swim, but yes, you still gotta pay!

It’s a great spot to take your kids for some summer fun at a lake. Plenty of parking. Kid friendly — water goes as deep as 11 feet but apparently have to pass a test to hang around there. The lifeguards are great– they shout in their speakers to the kids who are not doing what they should be doing or going too far. Shows that they are very attentive.
Bring umbrellas and towels and youre set!

Great for family fun.
The park is great, clean and the staff are very friendly.
The lagoon is excellent. Clean and lots of life guards. very cheap to get in, $ 3.50 for adults and $ 2.50 for kids, infants (less than a yr old) are free. You can borrow a life vest for your child if you forgot to bring one. There are lots of picnic tables, big lawn area to put a gazebo or tent. Everyone is very professional and friendly.
Had a very fun and relaxing day today! Picnic with family and friends.

Such a beautiful park, I loved taking my dog here today. Not many people but I’m sure earlier in the day I’m sure it can be pretty busy.

Great place to be with family and friends. It is spacious and seems that not many people know about it. Not crowded with several grills for your carne asada. Bring your chairs and mat for a nice picnic. THEY DO NOT accept credit cards, cash only so do not forget it since the nearest at is about 2 miles away.

Great little east bay swim spot.
Its in Castro valley. So when its chilly in Oakland it just may be a few degrees warmer here.
Free parking!
Just try to get there before noon or your parking far away.
Plenty of space. Even with 10 thousand kids and a boyscout troop.
We had no problem setting up our tent within feet of the water.
Water was not super clean. But its a manmade lake and has filters. So its not too nasty either.
Good bathrooms and lifeguards on standby.
Its $ 3.50 adults and $ 2.50 kids. Cash only.

Yep… Had severe reservations about this place, but after coming here i has a great time. Pretty fun for a nice close get away with out driving an hour to the ocean.
Man made swimming area for family and or gatherings.
there’s beaches, diving area, and just a lot of resting areas and BBQ areas for parties.
Not bad for $ 3 bucks, what the heck can you get for $ 3 anymore?
Bring your goods because there’s no snack bar from where I was.
Man all the great smelling bbq going off today made me want crash someone’s BBQ party…
Check times because they are only open in the summer time.
great safe place for kids and families wanting some sun and fun in the water.

I went here for a BBQ with friends for Labor Day. I am so happy I found a hidden gem in the East Bay! We found a spot for our BBQ with enough tables, it wasn’t very crowded and it was very clean.
The swimming area was nice and there was a lot of staff present. It costs $ 3.50 for an adult to get in and you have to pass a swim test to jump off the dock. This is an awesome spot for a casual BBQ or a party with a lot of people. I will definitely be coming back here!

I’ve been to the other EB regional parks (a few times each) that have a swimming area, and Cull Canyon is still by far my favorite one.
One, it’s the most central of all the other choices and is really easy to get to from the freeway. No long ass drives into the middle of nowhere. Two, while parking can be limited, it’s free and the street option isn’t too far from the entrance. Three, it’s the closest thing to having sand, not painful, stupid gravel like many of the other ones and is totally free from bird poop, yeah, I’m looking at you Quarry Lakes, ugh. Four, it never feels overcrowded even though there are always a sh*t ton of little kids (mine included) always running around. Five, the water has different depths and never feels too cold.
The ONLY complaint is really towards EB park mgmt, not so much Cull Canyon. And that is: why the hell do you guys close in September, when you guys know fully well it’s still freaking hot until October?!! arghhh… I’d pay more during the summer if it meant we could go to the lagoons earlier in April and later until October. *crosses fingers that management will take this request into consideration*

I’ve never heard of this place until just recently when a friend decided to have her two year old daughter’s bday picnic here. It’s a man made beach/​lake and a place I would have probably LOVED when I was a kid. Thank goodness it wasn’t a scorching day because I’m sure if it had the place would have been packed.
If you live out this way in the East Bay I’d recommend coming here with children. The place is geared towards children, afterall being the water is quite shallow with the deeper part roped off.
Clean, well-​maintained, plentiful parking with a minimal entrée free.

5 stars when I was younger
Now that I’m 20, its not as fun.
I came here because I needed to practice swimming and treading for an upcoming scuba diving class. The weather was nice so my boyfriend and I decided to have a nice swim date outdoors.
Why I give Cull Canyon a poor review is for 2 reasons. 1) The majority of the lake is closed off, leaving a small area for toddlers and youngsters to splash around in a very shallow pool. 2) You are not allowed to swim the length of the lake, which is what I intended on coming here to do. You can only swim from a specific blue cone to the dock which is merely about 25 yards. How absurd!
I am very disappointed in this place. I will never come back until I have my own children to splash and wade in the shallows.

Growing up in Castro Valley, I have tons of fond memories of Cull Canyon. I remember braving the diving board, going to science camp, and even riding my bike from home — what an adventure!
The park itself is nice, but it’s just become too crowded. It’s hard to appreciate nature when there are hundreds of kids screaming and crying…