Dumbarton Quarry Campground on the San Francisco Bay is the world’s first new campsite in a long time
After decades of development, a brand new family campsite will open on Friday on the site of a huge gravel pit right on the waters of San Francisco Bay.
The 60-acre Dumbarton Quarry Campground in Fremont consists of 63 family campsites, a warehouse, showers, playground, picnic areas, and waterfront access in Coyote Hills Regional Park. Campsite reservations opened this week.
“The public has a local destination on the Bayfront that is perfect for urban family camping and is largely privately funded,” Park District Director Ayn Wieskamp said in a statement. “That’s an exciting reason to celebrate.”
East Bay Parks say Dumbarton Quarry is the first urban campground to be developed along the San Francisco Bay and one of the newest major campsites to open in California in three decades.
Dumbarton Quarry campsite.
East Bay Parks
The campsite on the north side of Dumbarton Bridge in Alameda County was a long time coming. Once the site of a quarry 300 feet deep and 1,400 feet wide, the rocks excavated there helped build early highways, bridges, and roads in the Bay Area in the 1950s. Plans to fill the abyss and build a family campsite have been in the works since the 1970s.
In addition to negotiating between the quarry owners, the Oliver DeSilva Company, the City of Fremont, and the East Bay Regional Parks District, the biggest task was to fill the huge hole. It took 12 years to fill the quarry with six million cubic feet of soil from major construction projects in the Bay Area, including the Bart extension to San Jose. The top 50 feet of earth was then compacted with a 10 ton weight suspended from a crane.
Dumbarton Quarry campsite.
East Bay Parks
“This project represents the best of public-private partnerships and is a win-win for the local economy and the environment. This wonderful campsite took maybe 40 years to open, but it was worth the wait, ”added Wieskamp.
An inauguration ceremony with tours and a cutting of the ribbon is planned for Saturday lunchtime.
Campsite fees range from $ 45 to $ 75. To make a reservation at Dumbarton Quarry, visit the East Bay Parks website here.
