Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area — Attraction in Show Low

My family takes a camping trip every year. This year we decided to try fools hollow lake. We had watched the videos and thought it was beautiful. What the video did not show is that those lovey rocks on your camp site drop off and are a 20 foot cliff ! No where does it tell you that these site are on the edge of a cliff. My grandson fell from these rocks all the way to the bottom and ended up with a very seriouse concussion and some memoery loss. Also on the second day we were there a female ranger came along and started questioning my son in law, asking if he lives in my house hold. I rented 3 sites . I walked up and asked if there was a problem and she said she knew we were still expecting another car and I said that yes we were. She asked me if those people lived in my house with me. When i asked why she informed me that if they didnt I would have to pay 15 per person on these site and that the state had changed the rules and that now you can only have house hold members on your camp site or you have to pay. I told her that all three of those site were paid for and no where did it state this new rule on the web page or on the rules and regulation paper i had in my car and that i was not paying for that. I also asked that if this is the case how was I then able to rent 3 , 12 man camp sites ? Who the heck has 36 people living in there home ? There was also suppose to be a small sandy area for swimming..I would like to know where that was since the only sandy area was covered in rocks. We will never return to this place again. I feel the female ranger was trying to scam money from us...especialy since she backed down and acted like she was doing me a favor by doing so. The rangers drive very fast all night long thru these sites and we were afraid and had to caussion the children about getting up and going to the bathroom after dark for fear they would be run over. This trip is with out a doubt the worst trip we have ever taken any where. Not kid friendly as far as safety is concerned. My 16 year old daughter was also sent to the emergency room. She recieved 3 stitches to her chin and scraoed enough flesh from her shin that she has exposed nerves, and is alot of pain. we all spent our 4 day camping trip falling over rocks. Over half of our friends and family came home bandaged and bruised. And to answer your question no we are not just clumsy or...

Check-in was quick and easy with the friendly staff member at the front kiosk, with clear instructions on how to find out site. We could tell it was going to be a peaceful, beautiful stay while driving in. It’s a well laid out park with plenty of space to roam around, and lots of easy access to the lake. I knew when booking the site that we were not getting a sewer hookup, but they have a dump station, so no biggie. I guess since we were closer to the lake, that might be why. It was worth it for a better view, I thought. The thing I wasn’t sure about was the shared site. It seems to be quite the mixed reviews from everyone else, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. When we arrived, I had to agree with those that didn’t like the shared site setup. I mean, it’s great if you know the people you’re sharing the site with – but if not, it’s definitely too close for comfort in my opinion. It would have been fine though, if your neighbors were okay – but we got noisy kids and chain smokers, so not the peaceful, fresh-air kind of experience we were hoping for. That said, though, they were gone for a chunk of time, then actually left – leaving the site empty for the last day. Anyway, it was a great site otherwise – level, good view, easy hookups, plenty of room for the trailer and truck, good picnic table, a fire ring, etc. There are some sites that aren’t shared, so maybe next time we’ll try to grab one of those. The staff in the campground were busy keeping things clean, and the folks selling firewood at their site were friendly – that was a handy thing to have available. The lake was beautiful. We wanted to come here because we like to stand up paddleboard, and I knew that this lake restricted boat engine size to 10hp – which means no jet skis and powerboats, which really ruins any paddling experience. It was enforced and as a result, most of the people on the lake were kayakers or paddleboarders. It was so peaceful and perfect. There’s a path going partially around one side of the lake too, which we used several times just to stroll or watch the sunset. We also liked that it was right on the edge of town, so we were able to pop over to Show Low to get a couple things that we forgot. Overall, a really nice spot – I would...

Camping should not be tents right in top of each other and be able to hear the people next door fart in their tent. That is not camping.

Constant children running around screaming at the top of their lungs because their parents haven't taught them any manners or they just don't give to a s##& about how their kids should behave in nature if they themselves are happy to have them running around outside being a nuisance rather than at home, which obviously isn't corrected at bad behavior then, so why should they care now? Let them be other people's problem? If they were my kid I'd tell them if I hear them screaming unless they are in serious danger, thet get to sit down and miss out until they can act like a human being

Very stressful trip that we cut short and left at 2:30 am a day earlier than we anticipated with very little sleep and my husband covered in stress hives all over his arms.

We desperately really really needed a quiet place to get away from the nightmares and incredible stresses of our life and this trip succeeded in making it worse and costing us money we would have not had to spend. We should have just stayed home if only we knew it would be a tent city with no privacy.

Appreciated how close the bathrooms were to our tent even tho there were often long lines of people waiting to shower. Luckily my MIL was staying somewhere 11 minutes away so that we could shower there without kids constantly beating on the doors from said children who aren't even trying to use the facilities; they just wanted to be little dirtbags.

With prices as low as they are, it's obvious that it is a place people want to bring their kids, like Applebee's or Chili's. If we'd known, we would have stayed home. Couldn't enjoy the time with family who invited us.

Absolutely no quiet time except maybe the dead of night. Why should we have to venture out in pitch black to try to find somewhere to sit by the lake? We wanted to experience all of that when we could see it in the light.

This experience taught us which places we will avoid...