There is so much I could say about this lake. It is only 8 miles from town. When I was a little girl it was called Deep Lake and was owned by Mrs. Nolte. When she died she willed it to the state for a park. Back then she charged a quarter for a car load of people. There were individual dressing rooms, two large swimming docks with diving boards,(one high one), a long rope swing, a huge slide and large log booms that we would try to knock each other off of. All of those things are gone now except in the summer they put out a small swimming dock. This is where my siblings and I learned to swim, as well as where our kids learned and where we will teach our grandkids to swim. This is also where my daughter and I start hiking when recovering from a back or knee injury....4 times in the last 4 years. Our next step in rehabilitation is Flaming Geyser State Park, then Greenwater Lakes. Then we are ready for most anything...except the real hard trails.