anderson lake county park

Anderson Lake County Park is a popular place to go power boating and do water sports. We visited in early August and in spite of the drought in California, there was lots of water here and power boating and water sports were possible and fun. There are nice views of the lake and also of the Morgan Hill valley area from the park,The family and group picnic area is not on the lake, but on the stream area. People were enjoying catching crawdad, fishing (note - one cannot eat the fish if caught due to toxic issues), and enjoying picnics.In the group picnic area, we enjoyed a game of horseshoes.One can also go hiking at the park - however the trail from the lake area to the stream area is a bit steep. There are also areas for bike riding.Since it is a county park, there is a small entrance fee, currently as of August 2014 it was $6.

We tried to find access to climb part way up El Toro in Morgan Hill but were met with 'no trespassing' signs everywhere we went. Very frustrating. We really wanted to see the lovely hills and get a view from above. (I lived on a hillside here as a child).We eventually gave up and drove to Anderson Lake in the hills on the other side of the valley. It is actually a reservoir, rather than a lake but we had a great walk to some height and were able to photograph the trees and hills up there.The 'lake' is used for motor boats, and other water sports with ramps and good parking for trailers etc. There are walking trails, places for fishing, and cycling. It is an impressive set-up. Clean restrooms too.Later we were told by a woman in Morgan Hill that we could have climbed El Toro, that the signs are only to be sure the owners aren't liable for any damage we do to ourselves on their property! Something very short-sighted about that. Guess visitors aren't expected.