Campground Review - Lake Skinner Recreation Area - Winchester, California

Description

The Lake Skinner Recreation Area is a lovely park and campground in the heart of the Temecula Wine Country. This quiet park has sweeping vistas of rolling California grassland and boulder-dotted hills. The park features many fun activities, like hiking, biking, running, boating, fishing, and equestrian riding, as well as picnic areas and the Splash Zone water park. This is a great base from which to explore the surrounding wine country.

Location

Lake Skinner Recreation Area
37701 Warren Rd
Winchester, CA 92596
Park: (951) 926-1541
Latitude: 33.578484 N, Longitude: -117.028584 W, Elevation: ~1,500 ft (457.2 m)

Details

We stayed for two-weeks at the Lake Skinner Recreation Area campground in early November of 2017. This is a basic, clean, quiet and well-maintained campground with easy access to the Temecula Wine Country.

Cost

For two-weeks at a 50 amp full hookup pull-thru site, we paid about $33 per night, including tax and a $2 per pet per night fee.

Ratings (1-5)

Accessibility – 4/5

The campground is easily accessible via well-maintained paved rural roads. Traffic through Temecula is often heavy, if you go that route. Roads in the park are paved and well-maintained. The park has both pull-thru and back-in sites and can accommodate large rigs. The campground facilities have provisions for Universal access.

Facilities/Amenities – 4/5

The campground offers basic amenities, including full and partial hookup sites, dry tent sites, RV dump station, restrooms and showers, laundry room, playgrounds, and horseshoe pits. The park has a small general store with snack bar, basic groceries, household goods, camping supplies, marina fuel, souvenirs and tourist info for the local area.

The park also features an amphitheater, picnic areas, boat rentals, and Splash Pad water park. Activities include fishing, boating, hiking, running, biking and equestrian riding. The park features running and equestrian trails. Facilities are clean and well maintained. Staff was friendly and helpful. Note: All water activities on the reservoir are non-body contact ( no water skiing, swimming, etc.)

Site quality – 3/5

Sites have full or partial hookups with 50/30/20 amp electric, fire ring and a picnic table. Sites are dirt and gravel, with little separation between sites. Some sites have shade trees.

Scenic Value – 4/5

The park is nicely landscaped and has sweeping views of rolling California grasslands and of the rocky Tukalota Hills.

Location/Isolation – 4/5

The campground is in a quiet rural area in the heart of the Temecula Wine Country. A few ranch properties are visible in the hills near the park, but the park otherwise feels quite isolated. The campground is generally quiet, except for the buzz of watercraft on the reservoir or the occasional drone of small planes flying overhead. This is a popular campground and is quite busy on weekends and during summer.

Paws Friendliness – 4/5

The campground is pet friendly and has cleanup bag stations, but does not have an enclosed pet run. The park has many trails and is large enough for a long walk with your pet. Unfortunately, pets are not allowed to swim in the reservoir.

Overall Rating – 4/5

Overall, the Lake Skinner Recreation Area campground is a nice place to stay, with many fun activities. The park serves as a great base for exploring the nearby wine country. We enjoyed our stay here.

Additional info

Internet access

We received a weak to moderate 4G Verizon signal at this campground. We did deployed our cellular antenna booster to improve MiFi hot spot internet access. The campground does not have WiFi service.

Water Quality

The water at this campground tested moderately hard – we added our water softener to the water filtration stack.

Nearby Amenities

Grocery stores, restaurants, wineries, automotive and some RV services are nearby in Temecula (11 miles) or Murrieta (15 miles). A larger choice of services and shopping are available in Riverside, CA (44 miles) or San Diego (70 miles).