‘Then and Now’ presentation revisits Del Valle Regional Park history

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Known as a local hotspot for outdoor recreation, Del Valle Regional Park has not always been as it appears today.

Throughout history, the land located about five miles south of Livermore has hosted indigenous people, settlers and ranchers. Only in 1970, after a dam was constructed over the Arroyo del Valle waterway to create a reservoir, did the East Bay Regional Park District open the park. 

The history of the park and the land it occupies received public attention at a lecture last week, where EBRPD supervising naturalist Ashley Grenier recalled over 10,000 years into the past. 

Hosted at the Livermore Civic Center Library on Jan. 28, her presentation called “Then and Now: Del Valle Regional Park” was part of the “Then and Now: Livermore Stories” series where local history is co-presented by the Livermore Heritage Guild and the Livermore Public Library. 

“It’s important to connect people to their local environment, whether it be the natural environment or the history,” Grenier said of the presentation’s purpose. “There are really special places just right outside of our door and we don’t have to travel all the way to Yosemite or Joshua Tree or places like that. You can explore our own backyards and feel more connected to the place that we live.”

The story of the parkland begins over 13,000 years prior to European settlement, when the indigenous tribes Ohlone, Bay Miwok, and Northern Valley Yokuts started residing in the Bay Area. 

Taunan Ohlone, a tribelet within the larger Ohlone-speaking group, lived near present-day Livermore and Del Valle. In that area, all life-sustaining resources would have been available: oak trees for acorns to eat, tule reeds for shelter and a creek for fresh water, Grenier explained. 

“It’s important to acknowledge that all native people have a reciprocal relationship with the natural environment. They managed the land in a way that was beneficial to the land and to themselves,” Grenier said.

In the late 1700s, the Spanish king sent military troops and Franciscan missionaries to California to colonize the territory and convert indigenous people to Christianity, according to the California Missions Foundation website. This organization restores and protects all 21 mission structures and their contents with the goal of history preservation.

“In general, missionization is really what caused the genocide of the indigenous people,” Grenier said.

Land and culture in the western United States continued to change through the late 1800s as settlers bought up acreage for a small fee under The Homestead Act.

During this time, a vibrant community grew in Livermore, planted crops, raised livestock, and sent their children to school, Grenier said. One such group was the Crosby family, who settled near the Arroyo del Valle.

By the early 1900s, ranching became a norm in the valley. Among those to ranch in the area was the Patterson family who owned 5,000 acres within the Del Valle watershed. Large portions of their ranches have since been converted to public open space including Coyote Hills Regional Park, Ardenwood Historic Farm and Del Valle Regional Park.

Through the 1940s and ’50s, the Arroyo del Valle was a vital waterway for folks that lived here, Grenier said. It was also a place to play and relax.

But trouble often arose during the winter, when the creek caused flooding in towns and valleys downstream.

Finally in 1968, flood protection arose in the form of a dam along Arroyo del Valle creek. Additional benefits of the dam included recreation opportunities at the resulting reservoir and the creation of a drinking water reserve.

Within two years, EBRPD opened Del Valle Regional Park.

“While things have changed, much has stayed the same,” Grenier said.

Upon opening, visitors took up familiar activities at the park including boating, horseback riding, camping and hiking.

One difference was the cost of admission, set at $1 per car during off-season and $1.50 per car during peak season. Meanwhile, camping was only $5 per site. 

Not just a location for recreation, the park also provides open space with many landscapes that can support a variety of wildlife, Grenier said. Insects, frogs, fish, waterfowl and eagles are just some of the inhabitants of the park.

Also new was the inclusion of the reservoir in the California State Water Project, a water storage and delivery system extending over 705 miles with benefits like power generation, flood control and recreation.

The Lake Del Valle reservoir can store 77,000 acre-feet of water, equivalent to 77,000 football fields filled with one foot of water each. Recipients of the water include residents of the Tri-Valley and the Dougherty Valley area, as distributed by Zone 7 Water Agency.

Usually the reservoir’s managing agency, the California Department of Water Resources fills the lake for recreational use during summers and drains during autumn in preparation for rain. But in recent years, the park has flooded twice amid unpredictable rainfall: once in 2017 and again in 2023 when water reached the visitor center.

At the root of the unpredictability is climate change, wherein the Bay Area is experiencing “precipitation whiplash” meaning longer dry seasons and shorter, more intense wet seasons, Grenier said.

She hopes for improved rainfall predictions to manage the water levels amid weather extremes.

Despite the recent flooding, the visitor center is once again operational. It contains exhibits and information about the natural history of Del Valle and the surrounding wilderness.

For more information about Del Valle Regional Park, visit the EBRPD website at ebparks.org.

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