EBMUD Opens Resurfaced All-Abilities Lakeside Boardwalk and Wildlife Overlook at Lafayette Reservoir

Watershed rangers and civil engineers with the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) reopened the 680-foot eastern lakeside boardwalk and over-water wildlife observation deck at the Lafayette Reservoir Recreation Area at 3849 Mount Diablo Boulevard in Lafayette on Saturday morning. Forming the most scenic waterfront segment of the 2.7-mile paved Lakeside Nature Trail, the elevated walkway carries more than 900,000 Lamorinda walkers, joggers, stroller-pushing parents, and anglers from Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda each year across a sheltered tule-reed cove near the Visitor Center and pedal-boat dock.

After thirty years of winter fog and summer sun warped the original pressure-treated Douglas fir planks, EBMUD structural crews reinforced the steel support pilings and resurfaced the entire 10-foot-wide promenade with marine-grade, slip-resistant recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and rice-hull composite decking. Beveled stainless-steel transition plates eliminate lip gaps at both approaches, providing a smooth, vibration-free surface for wheelchairs, mobility walkers, and strollers.

Along the outer lakeside railing, designers added three recessed wheelchair-accessible fishing and birdwatching alcoves with lowered 34-inch sightline rails, integrated rod holders, and two dual-height 12x42 optical spotting scopes aimed at the reservoir's nesting osprey platforms and wintering bufflehead ducks. Below the boardwalk deck, watershed biologists anchored floating tule-sedge bio-haven islands that shelter juvenile rainbow trout and western pond turtles.

The $410,000 watershed recreation upgrade was funded through EBMUD Recreation Capital Reserves and a California Wildlife Conservation Board public access grant. Visitors can check daily parking pass rates, boat rental hours, and autumn trout-stocking updates on the EBMUD Lafayette Reservoir Recreation Page.