San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area

California, United States
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Nestled in the grassy hills of the western San Joaquin Valley near historic Pacheco Pass, San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area is noted for boating, wind surfing, camping, and picnicking. But it's anglers who find the unit's three lakes most inviting.
Getting There
On Highway 152, 7 miles West of I-5, or 33 miles East of Highway 101 from Gilroy.

The Day Use Annual Pass is accepted at this park.
Seasons/Climate/Recommended Clothing
The area around San Luis Reservoir and O'Neill Forebay is often very windy, and winds can come up quite suddenly. Watch the wind warning lights at the Basalt entrance station, Quien Sabe Point, and Romero Visitor Center. On the Forebay, wind warning lights are located at the Medeiros boat ramp, above the South Beach picnic area, and above the group campground at San Luis Creek.

Summer temperatures here average in the mid-90s and occasionally exceed 100 degrees but evenings are usually cool and pleasant. Rainfall averages eight to nine inches a year, mostly between November and April. In winter, temperatures seldom go below freezing, and tule fogs are frequent. In the spring, the golden-brown hills are coated with a fleeting green, highlighted by bursts of wildflowers colors.
Operating Hours & Contact
On-season hours
(April 1-Sept 30): 6am-10pm
Fall hours (Oct 1-Oct 31): 6am-7pm

Off-season hours
(Nov 1-Feb 29): 6am-6pm
Spring hours (March 1-March 31): 6am-7pm

Boating Hours:
6am to sunset

Camping:
check-in at 2pm
check-out at noon

Telephone: 209-826-1197
Camping
Reservations are recommended for developed campsites at Basalt and San Luis Creek Campgrounds on spring and summer weekends and holidays. Two other campgrounds are available first come, first served.
• Basalt Campground: Each of these 79 non-hookup sites among eucalyptus and pine trees has a table, a food locker, and a fire ring with a barbecue grill. Some sites can accommodate trailers and motor homes up to 30 feet. Water and restrooms with pay showers are nearby. A sanitation station is also nearby.
• San Luis Creek Area Campground: The 53 family sites have electric and water hookups, and accommodate motor homes and trailers up to 30 feet. A sanitation station is nearby. The shaded picnic areas have sandy beaches. Reserve group picnic sites by calling (209) 826- 1197, Monday through Friday.
• Medeiros Campground: This undeveloped campground on the south shore of O’Neill Forebay accommodates up to 500 campers. Drinking water and chemical toilets are nearby.
• Los Baños Creek Campground: 14 undeveloped sites have shade ramadas, tables and barbecue grills, with drinking water and chemical toilets nearby. A primitive horse campground has chemical toilets. Water for riders is available at the boat ramp water tank. There is no water on site.

Group Camping: Two group campgrounds are available at the San Luis Creek Area along the shoreline of O'Neill Forebay. Both sites offer shade ramadas, tables, fire rings, flushable toilets, and hot pay showers. Group Camp A can accommodate 60 people and 15 vehicles. Group Camp B can accommodate 30 people and 10 vehicles. Boats must be removed from the water by sunset. These group campsites are available only by reservation.

Make Campground Reservations
Group Picnic Sites
Five group picnic sites are scattered along the O'Neill Forebay shoreline throughout the North Beach and South Beach day-use areas at San Luis Creek. Both day-use areas have plenty of shade and grass. Each site has a large shade ramada, a large BBQ grill, and several cement tables. Group picnic sites 1 through 4 are located on North Beach. North Beach has a designated swim area. Dogs are prohibited on North Beach. Boats are not allowed to beach. Group picnic area 5 is located on South Beach, where boats can be beached. Dogs must remain on a leash and under immediate control of its owner at all times. Flushable toilets and drinking water are available on both beaches. Each site is available by reservation and costs $30. Reservations can be made by calling the park office at 209-826-1197.
Activities
Swimming
On the west shore of O’Neill Forebay, San Luis Creek’s North Beach area is designated for swimming. Lifeguard service is not available. Swimming is not restricted to specific areas elsewhere at the park, but swimmers should be cautious about the boats present on the water. Diving is not allowed.

Fishing
• San Luis Reservoir/O’Neill Forebay: Fishing experts suggest trolling with lures from fall through early spring, and with anchovies or shad and live minnows the rest of the year. Largemouth black bass, striped bass, crappies, bluegill, shad, perch and occasional salmon and sturgeon are caught here. Overnight fishing is permitted in some parts of the San Luis Creek area (no camping). In the Medeiros area only registered campers may fish all night. Call for details.
• Los Baños Creek Reservoir: Crappies, bluegill, largemouth bass, catfish and planted trout are caught in this reservoir.

Trails
Basalt Campground Trail begins to the right off the campground road. The six-mile round trip Lone Oak Trail begins at the parking lot by the boat ramp and goes uphill above the lake, past Quien Sabe Point and around the side of Lone Oak Bay.

Boating and Jet skiing
Boats are required to remain at least 500’ away from from all water structures, including dams. All watercraft must carry one life jacket for each passenger. Sudden strong winds are an important factor at San Luis Reservoir; watch for the wind warning lights.
• San Luis Reservoir: Boats are allowed on the water from sunrise until sunset. Wind warning lights are located at the Romero Visitor Center, Quien Sabe Point and the Basalt entrance.
• O’Neill Forebay: Boats are allowed on the water from sunrise until sunset. The strictly enforced boating pattern here is counter-clockwise. The big yellow buoys are the center line. Boaters may beach their boats at South Beach. Strong spring and summer west winds make O’Neill Forebay an excellent spot for board sailing. Kite sailing, however, is not permitted because of the powerlines over the Forebay. Wind warning lights are located at Medeiros, above the South Beach picnic area, and above the group campground of San Luis Creek.
• Los Baños Creek Reservoir: Boats are allowed on the water from sunrise until sunset. The maximum speed anywhere on this reservoir is five miles per hour.

Hunting
Federal and state game laws apply to seasonal hunting of migratory waterfowl. Hunting from sunrise to sunset is allowed during hunting season only on certain parts of the Los Baños Creek Reservoir, the San Luis Reservoir, and the O’Neill Forebay. It is not permitted within 300 feet of campgrounds, picnic areas, boat ramp areas, or dam and water structures. Handguns and rifles are not permitted for waterfowl hunting.

San Luis Creek Day-Use Area
North and South Beach day-use areas have about 200 picnic sites with shade ramadas, tables, and BBQ grills. Both day-use areas have plenty of shade and grass. North Beach is the only designated swim area within San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area. Lifeguard service is not available.
Boating Safety
San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area consists of three lakes: San Luis Reservoir, O'Neill Forebay, and Los Banos Creek Reservoir. Each lake is susceptible to sudden changes in wind and weather conditions. Wind warning lights are used on San Luis Reservoir and O'Neill Forebay to alert boaters of the current wind conditions. On San Luis Reservoir, watch for the 3 wind warning lights near the Basalt entrance station, Quien Sabe Point, and Romero Visitor Center. On the O'Neill Forebay, wind warning lights are located near the old Medeiros boat ramp, above the South Beach area, and above the group campground.

Wind VelocityConditionLight Color
Below 15 mphOkayAll Lights Off
15 to 29 mphUse cautionAmber
Over 30 mphClosed to BoatingRed


Current wind conditions can be retrieved by calling 1-800-805-4805.

Boaters should also be aware of the lake hazards during water drawdown on O'Neill Forebay and San Luis Reservoir.

Boating hours are from sunrise until sunset. All boats must be off the lake and out of the closed day-use areas by sunset.

All boating regulations and laws are fully enforced. Vessel inspections can occur at any time for compliance with all applicable laws, rules, and/or regulations (authority CCR 4662). If you would like a free vessel inspection to ensure you have the required safety equipment, please ask a State Park Ranger for an inspection before you launch.

Please visit the website for Cal Boating for more information regarding California boating laws.
About the Park
San Luis Reservoir was constructed as a storage reservoir for the federal Central Valley Project and the California State Water Project. It stores runoff water from the Delta that would otherwise flow into the ocean. The water arrives through the California Aqueduct and the Delta-Mendota Canal, and is pumped from the O'Neill Forebay into the main reservoir during the winter and spring. The Los Banos Creek Reservoir was built to prevent storm runoff from flooding the canals.

A visitor center at the Romero Overlook provides full information on the reservoirs and water projects through audio-visual and printed materials. Telescopes are also available for viewing the area. The Romero Visitor Center is administered by the CA Dept. of Water Resources.

Long before the dams and canals were built, this land was the home of the Northern Valley Yokuts, native Americans who harvested seeds, acorns, and the roots of the tules that grew in the marshes of the sluggish San Joaquin River. There were also fish, geese, and ducks for food, as well as huge herds of pronghorn antelope and tule elk on the plains. With the coming of the Spanish, though, this way of life disappeared. Many of the valley people were taken to missions around 1805, and an epidemic, possibly of malaria, decimated the human population of this area in 1833. In the 1850s, the survivors were killed or driven off by Euroamerican settlers.

Pacheco pass was named for Don Juan Pacheco, who settled here in the 1840s. The pass was used by Native Americans, Spanish soldiers and missionaries, Mexican ranchers, and gold miners, as well as more recent travelers. In 1856, Andrew Firebaugh improved the pass and made it a toll road, with a toll house two miles west of the summit. He had hardly finished when the Butterfieid-Overland stages began using the road as part of their route from San Francisco to Missouri.

The first water works in the area were constructed in 1871, when farmers built a canal from Mendota Dam to Los Banos Creek to irrigate their wheat crops. Many canals were added over the years, until they totaled 180 miles in length. Ground was broken in 1962 for the San Luis Project, which created the current reservoirs. Today, Los Banos area farmers cultivate alfalfa, grapes, tomatoes, melons, corn, cotton, beans, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, and raise dairy and beef cattle.
Accessible Features
Camping
Basalt Campground: Six accessible campsites are dispersed through the park. Accessible campsites are #’s 20, 35, 36, 40, 51, 56 and 73.
Restrooms: There are two accessible combination restrooms with pay showers, one in each campground loop.
Parking: Designated accessible spaces are adjacent to each restroom.

Medeiros Campground: There are three accessible campsites available with accessible restrooms (non-flushable) available in the campground.

San Luis Creek Campground: Accessible campsites are available. Accessible Campsites are #’s 9, 12, 13, 32, 34, and 45.
Restrooms: There are accessible restrooms (non-flushable) available in this campground.

Picnic Area
Dinosaur Point: Accessible picnic sites and restroom (non-flushable) are available.

San Luis Creek Area: Accessible picnic sites are available. There are accessible restrooms available on North and South Beach Areas. An accessible trail (approximately 3 miles in length) follows the O'Neill Forebay shoreline from the North Beach Area through the campground and ends at a popular fishing spot known as the Check 12 Area. This is where the CA Aqueduct empties into the O'Neill Forebay.

Basalt Area: Accessible picnic sites are available.

Los Banos Creek: This area has accessible picnic sites with shade ramadas and an accessible vault restroom.

Trails
The San Luis Creek Trail begins at the San Luis Creek campground and extends south for 2 miles to South Beach day-use area. The 5’ wide paved trail provides linkage to multiple destination points including the group campground, north day-use area and several fishing spots. Accessible parking is available at several locations along the trail route.

Beach/Shore Access
A beach wheelchair is available. The North Beach has accessible picnic sites, parking, outdoor rinsing showers, and restrooms.

Exhibits/Programs
Romero Visitor Center, operated by the Department of Water Resources, is generally accessible and open daily. It provides excellent views of the area as well as interpretive information. For more information call 209-827-5353.

Fishing
Basalt Area: When water level is low, vehicles often obtain park permission to park near the water for fishing. Soft mud near the water is a hazard and a tow from a private tow service costs at least $200. A generally accessible restroom is near the boat launch area.
Los Banos Creek Reservoir: Accessible parking is available at the Boat Launch parking lot.

Other Information
The Park Office is accessible and an accessible restroom is available.
Park News Alert
ATTENTION ALL BOATERS
EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2011, VESSEL INSPECTIONS FOR QUAGGA AND ZEBRA MUSSELS TO BEGIN AT SAN LUIS RESERVOIR SRA
All boats, personal watercraft, kayaks, canoes, sailboards, inflatables, and float tubes must undergo a mandatory inspection. This inspection is to prevent the spread of Quagga and Zebra Mussels. This invasive species threatens recreational opportunities, the water delivery infrastructure of California, and the aquatic habitat of San Luis Reservoir SRA. Failure to allow inspection of any watercraft will result in the refusal to launch.

Click here to view News Release

Starting October 10, 2011, state water officials plan to end public access at Sisk and O'Neill dams.

Click here to view News Release
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plutino is the Guru of San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area

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XC training, Pacheco Cross Country Course, XC Varsity racing

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