The creek is known for having been the site of the first rainbow trout hatchery in the world, drawing on the locally native variety of the species.

Lake Chabot serves as a standby emergency water supply but was opened to limited recreation in the 1960s.

It sustains the redwood groves in the unincorporated town of Canyon, California and was formerly lined with numerous oaks and willows in its lower course.

[12] California Department of Fish and Game Warden George Smalley reported runs of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus) in San Leandro Creek “…in the early days” and “…that after the completion of the Upper San Leandro Reservoir a run still persisted to the base of the dam for many years”.

Leidy considered this single historical account of coho in the creek "reliable...since we believe that suitable habitat was present in the watershed.