Just returned ffrom a 3-day stay at Lake Skinner. There were six adults and two young children in our group. We stayed in Camp ground 'C'. It has been about 28 years since I was last at Lake Skinner. At that time the trees were no taller than 6-7 feet tall and I only remember the place being very hot and having little shade. Fast forward 28 years later and a lot has changed. The trees are grown though many of the perimeter camp sites seem to have taller and more filled out trees than the interior sites in each camping area. There are several huge grassy areas perfetct for frisbee, kite flying, and a relatively new water park. There is also a walking/running path around the camp sites that does not appear to be completed. There are also two large play areas with slides for the kids. That much has changed. What has not changed are the following: It is HOT here. granted, we had great breezes from11am to 6pm for two days but our last day provided little or no breeze and the temp was 104, in the shade.That memory is burned in my mind from my stay 30 years ago!! The hills and area immediately surrounding the campsite are off limits because it is a wildlife protection area. Ther is one horse/hiking trail at the entrance of the park which is about 3 miles long and open from 8am to 4pm. We didn't hike this because it was over 100 degrees all three days of our stay. As this lake is a domestic water supply there is no human or animal contact allowed with the water, only fishing, kayaking, canoeing are allowed.. Lastly, the pool that I remembered using as a young boy has been removed and replaced with a small but nice waterpark called splash zone. However, splashzone was closed this incredibly hot weekend because of a few construction issues. This would be a good place for a weekend picnic if the water park was working.
Anyway, the camp sites are small but clean. bathrooms are very clean and the showers worked well. The campers surrounding us were generally quite and respectfull but many of them did make a good deal of noise until 11:30 or 12:00am. As a tent camper, I really didn't sleep all that well because of the air conditioner noise at night but most people were asleep or inside their RV's after 11:00am in our area.
Overall, there wasn't much to do at this camp site since the surrounding areas are off-limits, there is really no water sports to speak of in the lake except fishing. Kids will like the large grassy areas and large play areas with slides. Would have had a much better time if the water park was operating. and possibly if that particular weeked wasn't the hottest of the entire 2010 summer!.

Camped at Lake Skinner the weekend of July 23-26, 2010. We had a large group consisting of 26 sites / approx 120 people total. We stayed in the group rows of the 'C' area with a few extra sites. The rangers were INCREDIBLY helpful in working with us to get our group to the proper sites. As coordinator, I stayed an extra night and went to the ranger station first think in the morning with the list of "who goes where." They took all of that information down and directed our group to their sites with no problem. I don't think we had any further contact with the rangers the rest of the trip. Not that they aren't around... there is an incredible amount of ranger presence. They probably came through out camping area about every 30-60 minutes. A drive by to make sure everything was going fine -- that no one was bother anyone. A smile... a wave... have a nice day!

It was HOT our weekend out there. And with the pool not open, we had lots of water activities. Both within our campground and also in the grassy areas. Again, we kept it within the area that our campers were in and had no problems whatsoever.

Quiet time was quiet. Not that there was NO NOISE at all, but at 10:00pm everything wound down and was very respectful. Bonfires burning, occasional outburst of laughter, but nothing you couldn't sleep though.

I believe that we'll be back next year with another group. Hopefully, the water area will be completed and this place will then be PERFECT!

This place was terrible. I would recommend all campers boycott this place. First the rangers are rude, the one camp host we saw was friendly though. Second, leave your pet at home, not dog friendly at all. Thirdly, tons of rules, but the only ones enforced were the ones that deal with dogs, or parking. Loud music and partiing unti 3am with no enforcement of the quiet hours. Fourthly, DON'T let your dogs look at the lake, if you are that close with your dog you will get a ticket. Also, don't even think about fishing on the shore with your feet in the water. BIG NO NO. Hope all can learn from my lesson.

The park is beautiful. The lake very clean. The environment is nice but make sure you bring your own food. The restaurant they have there has the worst service I have ever experienced. They never brought us out water, sliverware or drinks. we had to walk up and ask for our drinks and silverware even after we were served our food. They forgot one of our order but after I saw the that she was pulling my food out of a box, I canceled my order. If i wanted boxed food I would just eat at home. After a long day at the lake, this is the last thing you want to have to go through when everyone is so hungry. I will NEVER eat there again.