tl;dr

Is there a simple way to convert a LocalDate (introduced with Java 8) to java.util.Date object? By 'simple', I mean simpler than this

Nope. You did it properly, and as concisely as possible.

java.util.Date.from(                     // Convert from modern java.time class to troublesome old legacy class.  DO NOT DO THIS unless you must, to inter operate with old code not yet updated for java.time.
    myLocalDate                          // `LocalDate` class represents a date-only, without time-of-day and without time zone nor offset-from-UTC. 
    .atStartOfDay(                       // Let java.time determine the first moment of the day on that date in that zone. Never assume the day starts at 00:00:00.
        ZoneId.of( "America/Montreal" )  // Specify time zone using proper name in `continent/region` format, never 3-4 letter pseudo-zones such as “PST”, “CST”, “IST”. 
    )                                    // Produce a `ZonedDateTime` object. 
    .toInstant()                         // Extract an `Instant` object, a moment always in UTC.
)

Read below for issues, and then think about it. How could it be simpler? If you ask me what time does a date start, how else could I respond but ask you “Where?”?. A new day dawns earlier in Paris FR than in Montréal CA, and still earlier in Kolkata IN, and even earlier in Auckland NZ, all different moments.

So in converting a date-only (LocalDate) to a date-time we must apply a time zone (ZoneId) to get a zoned value (ZonedDateTime), and then move into UTC (Instant) to match the definition of a java.util.Date.

Details

Firstly, avoid the old legacy date-time classes such as java.util.Date whenever possible. They are poorly designed, confusing, and troublesome. They were supplanted by the java.time classes for a reason, actually, for many reasons.

But if you must, you can convert to/from java.time types to the old. Look for new conversion methods added to the old classes.

java.util.Date → java.time.LocalDate

Keep in mind that a java.util.Date is a misnomer as it represents a date plus a time-of-day, in UTC. In contrast, the LocalDate class represents a date-only value without time-of-day and without time zone.

Going from java.util.Date to java.time means converting to the equivalent class of java.time.Instant. The Instant class represents a moment on the timeline in UTC with a resolution of nanoseconds (up to nine (9) digits of a decimal fraction).

Instant instant = myUtilDate.toInstant();

The LocalDate class represents a date-only value without time-of-day and without time zone.

A time zone is crucial in determining a date. For any given moment, the date varies around the globe by zone. For example, a few minutes after midnight in Paris France is a new day while still “yesterday” in Montréal Québec.

So we need to move that Instant into a time zone. We apply ZoneId to get a ZonedDateTime.

ZoneId z = ZoneId.of( "America/Montreal" );
ZonedDateTime zdt = instant.atZone( z );

From there, ask for a date-only, a LocalDate.

LocalDate ld = zdt.toLocalDate();

java.time.LocalDate → java.util.Date

To move the other direction, from a java.time.LocalDate to a java.util.Date means we are going from a date-only to a date-time. So we must specify a time-of-day. You probably want to go for the first moment of the day. Do not assume that is 00:00:00. Anomalies such as Daylight Saving Time (DST) means the first moment may be another time such as 01:00:00. Let java.time determine that value by calling atStartOfDay on the LocalDate.

ZonedDateTime zdt = myLocalDate.atStartOfDay( z );

Now extract an Instant.

Instant instant = zdt.toInstant();

Convert that Instant to java.util.Date by calling from( Instant ).

java.util.Date d = java.util.Date.from( instant );

More info

• Oracle Tutorial
• Similar Question, Convert java.util.Date to what “java.time” type?

About java.time

The java.time framework is built into Java 8 and later. These classes supplant the troublesome old legacy date-time classes such as java.util.Date, Calendar, & SimpleDateFormat.

To learn more, see the Oracle Tutorial. And search Stack Overflow for many examples and explanations. Specification is JSR 310.

The Joda-Time project, now in maintenance mode, advises migration to the java.time classes.

You may exchange java.time objects directly with your database. Use a JDBC driver compliant with JDBC 4.2 or later. No need for strings, no need for java.sql.* classes. Hibernate 5 & JPA 2.2 support java.time.

Where to obtain the java.time classes?

• Java SE 8, Java SE 9, Java SE 10, Java SE 11, and later - Part of the standard Java API with a bundled implementation.
  • Java 9 brought some minor features and fixes.
• Java SE 6 and Java SE 7
  • Most of the java.time functionality is back-ported to Java 6 & 7 in ThreeTen-Backport.
• Android
  • Later versions of Android (26+) bundle implementations of the java.time classes.
  • For earlier Android (<26), a process known as API desugaring brings a subset of the java.time functionality not originally built into Android.
    • If the desugaring does not offer what you need, the ThreeTenABP project adapts ThreeTen-Backport (mentioned above) to Android. See How to use ThreeTenABP….

The ThreeTen-Extra project extends java.time with additional classes. This project is a proving ground for possible future additions to java.time. You may find some useful classes here such as Interval, YearWeek, YearQuarter, and more.

Date date = Date.from(localDate.atStartOfDay(ZoneId.systemDefault()).toInstant());

That assumes your date chooser uses the system default timezone to transform dates into strings.

Short answer

Date input = new Date();
LocalDate date = input.toInstant().atZone(ZoneId.systemDefault()).toLocalDate();

Java 9 answer

In Java SE 9, a new method has been added that slightly simplifies this task:

Date input = new Date();
LocalDate date = LocalDate.ofInstant(input.toInstant(), ZoneId.systemDefault());

This new alternative is more direct, creating less garbage, and thus should perform better.

Explanation

Despite its name, java.util.Date represents an instant on the time-line, not a "date". The actual data stored within the object is a long count of milliseconds since 1970-01-01T00:00Z (midnight at the start of 1970 GMT/UTC).

The equivalent class to java.util.Date in JSR-310 is Instant, thus there is a convenient method toInstant() to provide the conversion:

Date input = new Date();
Instant instant = input.toInstant();

A java.util.Date instance has no concept of time-zone. This might seem strange if you call toString() on a java.util.Date, because the toString is relative to a time-zone. However that method actually uses Java's default time-zone on the fly to provide the string. The time-zone is not part of the actual state of java.util.Date.

An Instant also does not contain any information about the time-zone. Thus, to convert from an Instant to a local date it is necessary to specify a time-zone. This might be the default zone - ZoneId.systemDefault() - or it might be a time-zone that your application controls, such as a time-zone from user preferences. Use the atZone() method to apply the time-zone:

Date input = new Date();
Instant instant = input.toInstant();
ZonedDateTime zdt = instant.atZone(ZoneId.systemDefault());

A ZonedDateTime contains state consisting of the local date and time, time-zone and the offset from GMT/UTC. As such the date - LocalDate - can be easily extracted using toLocalDate():

Date input = new Date();
Instant instant = input.toInstant();
ZonedDateTime zdt = instant.atZone(ZoneId.systemDefault());
LocalDate date = zdt.toLocalDate();