EBMUD Opens Upgraded Accessible Kayak Launch and Fishing Dock at Lafayette Reservoir Ahead of Autumn Trout Plant

Watershed rangers and marine construction crews with the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) opened a newly engineered accessible fishing pier and adaptive kayak launch dock on Friday morning along the north shore of Lafayette Reservoir at 3849 Mt. Diablo Boulevard. Approved by the EBMUD Board of Directors as part of a $640,000 recreation accessibility modernization, the floating marine-grade aluminum structure replaces the east cove timber dock built in 1994. An articulated eighty-foot gangway maintains a gentle ADA-compliant slope across seasonal water-level fluctuations, leading to a wide T-head platform equipped with lowered thirty-four-inch rod-holder rails, shaded bench alcoves, and an integrated transfer bench with stainless-steel slide rollers for paddlers using wheelchairs.

The dock commissioning arrives just as surface water temperatures in the 126-acre emergency standby reservoir dip below 64 degrees Fahrenheit, signaling the start of EBMUD's autumn and winter rainbow trout stocking calendar. In partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, hatchery tankers are scheduled to release the season's first 1,500 pounds of catchable rainbow trout during the first week of November, followed by biweekly plants through April.

To protect reservoir water quality and prevent invasive quagga or zebra mussels from entering the East Bay watershed, all private kayaks, canoes, and rowboats launching at the new roller slip must pass a complimentary five-minute hull inspection at the Visitor Center boathouse before receiving a daily launch band. Visitors without personal watercraft can rent stability-pontoon kayaks, pedal boats, or electric-trolling-motor skiffs by the hour starting at 7:00 AM daily.

Along the adjacent 2.7-mile paved Lakeside Nature Trail, maintenance crews also added two solar-powered drinking fountains with bottle fillers and resurfaced the picnic grove pathways near the east lawn. Anglers and paddlers can check daily fishing reports, boat rental rates, and parking pass fees on the EBMUD Lafayette Reservoir Recreation Portal.