Bethany Reservoir State Recreation Area

If you're looking for somewhere to fish nearby, it's worth giving Bethany a shot. Since it's bumped up next to the Altamont you may experience heavy winds and less favorable fishing conditions if you don't time your trip early enough in the day. We stopped in for just a few hours on Sunday afternoon. We didn't catch anything and didn't stay long because of the winds picking up. I hear the best fishing is in areas that you would need to bike to, but they open the gates every so often and you can drive back to some better fishing locations. Overall, I appreciated that it was a clean spot to throw some poles in and scenic enough to still enjoy a nice sunset.

This place is great if you can catch it on a day that isn't windy - GOOD LUCK! We came here with the intention of kayaking, which was okay but with the wind we stayed busy. Seems to be more of a fishing spot than anything. Not good for swimming - too many loose hooks for the kiddos to have fun without getting hurt.

Very pretty spot. Don't understand why the gate was closed (due to covid) and I had to walk .5 mile to to top... I parked off the side of the road... where EVERYONE ELSE parked and we all walked up holding hands!! I'm kidding but we did park together of the side of the road and walked up NOT holding holds. Did I say it was a pretty place and a good place to fish when there's not 20mph winds!

My dad went here on Saturday to go catfishing. And to our surprise, no water. Not enough water to launch our small boat. So, it was a day on the banks. And no fishing. Apparently, They opened the reservoir to let water out. Check ahead of time is my advise.

I went fishing with my Dad on a super hot day; 100°. This spot seems secluded and pretty close to Lazy Marina. Since it was our first time there, we had no idea it was a self registration. We turned the right as we entered the spot, and found an area to our left but decided to drive further down the road. That area was definitely better. It had about 3 shaded picnic tables along with a bathroom, which was probably a pit. All the garbage bins were full to the top, and since it was full, trash were left behind near the water.Fishing was definitely a better experience there than other places I've gone to. True story: right as my bait touched the water, I immediately caught a blue gill; too good to be true. Decided to cast my line out to the same spot and caught another! It was definitely fun. A group a couple of feet away from us simultaneously caught larger fish. This is definitely a spot I'll go back to to go fishing.

Nice looking reservoir with a boat dock, launch and 2 covered areas for grilling. Outdoor bathroom leaves much to be desired. People were grilling, fishing, boating and walking along the reservoir. Nice open space, not too crowded. *Open from 7am to Sunset*Dogs do not have to be leashed*Parking $5 *Boat use fee $5Driving in to the parking lot there is a sign that reads: Fee Area Self Registration Required. I never found a place to put the money and didnt spend a lot of time checking.From the State Parks website:Located in the northernmost part of the San Joaquin Valley, Bethany Reservoir State Recreation Area is a popular place for water-oriented recreation, especially fishing and windsurfing. It also features a bike trail (along the California Aqueduct Bikeway) - and many windmills. It is also the northern terminus of the California Aqueduct.

My car window was smashed yesterday and wallet stolen. Very sad I loved this place. Police wouldn't even come out and do a report

It's a nice place to go for a walk or do BBQ, you can even bring your jet ski and have some fun on the water. I really spent a great time with my family and I absolutely will come back.

I give this place three stars because it's Beautiful and was a nice place to go walking. The issue is I'm not from the area and we had no idea so many ticks were there. I brought my dogs and found several ticks on both of them. Spotted a tick on my white dog right away. My other dog is a border collie with long hair and I checked her as soon as we got home. She had a total of five ticks on her. The gravel path was also very tough on her feet and tore up her paws. Dog owners beware not the best place to walk your dogs. Otherwise a great place with beautiful scenery.

50+ floating dead white bass this morning. Yikes. Very disconcerting. Still, a dozen teenagers kayaking and a handful of people fishing. No personnel on duty and way way way too much litter everywhere.