Looking for a day trip while in Bay area? Then Anderson lake is a best place to visit on a warm sunny day. Anderson lake, also called Anderson Reservoir is an artificial lake at the Santa Clara county in California. Read through to know more about this lake.
How to get to there?
Anderson lake is at a distance of 69 miles from San Francisco and 22 miles from San Jose. It takes almost an hour to reach from San Francisco via US 101 and around 30 mins from San Jose.
Anderson Lake and Dam
Anderson Lake is the largest reservoir in the Santa Clara county, spread across 4275 acres of land. This reservoir was created in 1950 by constructing Anderson Dam across Coyote Creek. The reservoir and dam were named after Leroy Anderson, The founder and first president of Santa Clara Valley Water District.
Anderson Dam
The earthen dam measures 1,430 feet (440 m) long by 900 feet (270 m) wide and sits along the Coyote Creek Fault on Coyote Road, east of Morgan Hill. It holds over 90,000 acre feet of water when full.
Activities at Anderson Lake
Anderson Lake County park measuring about 4275 acres of land surrounds the reservoir and provides fishing, picnicking and hiking activities. Boating, water-skiing and jet-skiing are permitted in the reservoir.
Serpentine Trail
Serpentine trail is a short 0.4 miles trail to the top of the Anderson dam from the Lake county park. This is moderately strenuous trail. The dirt road leads to amazing views of the Morgan Hill and some stunning city views!
Travel Tips
- Swimming is prohibited in Anderson Lake.
- Some of the water activities might not operate depending on the water level. Make sure to check on this if you planning some water activity.
- Anderson Lake county park is pet friendly and also has a lot of picnic benches.
