We spent two weeks at Lake Skinner Recreation Area in Winchester, CA. Most of our daytime hours were enjoyed with extended family in a nearby city but we thoroughly enjoyed the quiet nights and the few days we spent here.
About Lake Skinner Recreation Area
Lake Skinner Recreation Area is a Riverside County Park located on Skinner Reservoir. The reservoir serves as a domestic water supply for the surrounding communities and any boating activities prohibit body contact with the water. In addition to boating, recreation includes fishing, hiking, biking, running trails, equestrian trails, horseshoe pits, two playgrounds, and a splash pad.
The park also hosts an old schoolhouse, open Thursday – Saturday, for children to explore local wildlife such as snakes, spiders, and stink bugs, peruse examples of books and tests from the schoolhouse’s days of operation, learn about the history of the schoolhouse, and complete crafts and activities for the chance to earn a Junior Ranger certificate and sticker. Our kids really enjoyed playing in and exploring here and the park ranger was friendly and helpful.
Camping at Lake Skinner
There are three campgrounds in the camping area (A, B, & C). Campground A has a mixture of full hook-up sites, water/electric sites, and water only sites, while Campgrounds B & C only offer full hook-ups. The campground playground and restroom/showers lie between Campgrounds A and B, and the dump station is across from Campground B.
The Camp Store, located at the entrance to the campgrounds, features gas pumps and propane fill, coin-operated laundry machines, a small cafe open from lunch on Friday through breakfast on Sunday, and sells grocery items, bait & tackle, ice, beer, firewood, and various snacks and other miscellaneous items. You can also rent boats at the camp store marina and there is boat and RV storage available as well.
We stayed in Campground A at a water only site, which worked great for us because most of the campers were more interested in full hook-up sites. The weekdays were quiet, while the weekends were slightly more noisy with campers who were there to party and have a good time, which is typical of most developed campgrounds (and why we usually stay away from them). Overall we enjoyed our stay here.
California is not our favorite place to be, mostly because it is just so exensive, but we do plan on making a trip back there eventually to explore the national parks. What do you think of southern California? Have you been there and would you visit again? Let us know in the comments!
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