Skillman Horse Camp

06/01/2026

36th ANNUAL GOLD COUNTRY TRAILS COUNCIL POKER RIDE
*** Registration CLOSES June 7! ***
DATE OF RIDE: Saturday, June 13, 2026
WHERE: Skillman Horse Camp on Hwy 20, Nevada City
REGISTRATION CLOSES: June 7, 2026
Old friends. New friends. Super food. FABULOUS PRIZES. Auction items. Best of all, riding and camping at 4,000 feet in the famous Skillman Horse Camp situated under large pines, cedars, and dogwoods in the beautiful Tahoe National Forest.
The ride will be 2-3 hours with options available for shorter or longer loops. Trails easy to moderate difficulty on beautifully wooded and well-marked trails.
ALL ENTRY FEES BENEFIT GCTC FOR SKILLMAN HORSE CAMP AND THE TRAILS OF TAHOE NATIONAL FOREST.
ENTER TODAY!
https://www.goldcountrytrailscouncil.org/2026-poker-ride.html
(Ride is limited to 80 riders.)
ANY QUESTIONS?
Cathy Scott, Poker Ride Manager
[email protected]
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CAMPSITE RESERVATIONS INFORMATION
Camp site reservations will be for TWO NIGHTS TOTAL:
Friday, June 12, 2pm to Sunday noon, June 14, 2026
No partial day reservations.
CAMPSITE FEES (NEW LOWER PRICES!!)
Go here to see fees and which camp sites are still available:
Camp has water for horses (bring water for humans), fire rings, picnic tables, vaulted restrooms and a dumpster for manure.
CAMPSITE RESERVATION PROCESS
Go here to get all the info:
NO REFUNDS, THIS IS A BENEFIT FOR GCTC.
So get busy!
SEE Y'ALL THERE!
Skillman Horse Camp is a very special place to camp!
QUESTIONS??
Cathy Scott, Poker Ride Manager
[email protected]
https://www.goldcountrytrailscouncil.org/2026-poker-ride.html

36th Annual GOLD COUNTRY TRAILS COUNCIL FUNDRAISER Saturday, June 13, 2026 | Skillman Horse Camp

05/29/2026

UPDATE DUE TO WEATHER DELAYS! NOT This weekend, NEXT STARTING JUNE 1 is the closure of the Highway 20 exit to I-80 closure going EAST. If you need to go Reno-way June 1-3, take a look at this map for the detour.

05/29/2026

From the folks running the Wild West Endurance Ride this weekend...

05/24/2026

Skillman Horse Camp water repair report by Gold Country Trails Council. It takes VOLUNTEERS to keep our horse camps running! "The Skillman water system has been repaired and water is flowing again at Skillman Campground thanks to a dedicated and hardworking crew. The downed tree and branches that were impeding the work area were removed. An old repair was opened in the pipe to determine if water was flowing to that location, and it was. From that location a snake probe was sent down the pipe and it was determined there was a blockage. That section of pipe was underground so the digging crew went to work. The unearthed area of concern was a split pipe that had allowed dirt/mud to seep into the pipe. After clearing the debris and temporary patches made, a water test from the spring was conducted and thankfully water reached the by-pass just before the storage tank.
Repair parts were obtained, repairs were made and the water running into the storage tank was music to everyone's ears.
Needless to say, Friday was a long day for the GCTC member volunteers. Many, many thanks to Jim, Bev, Milt, Alison and Mary! Persistence and determination prevailed.
Saturday morning, after the storage tank was filled, the valve was opened from the tank and the system in the campground was checked and put into operation!

05/23/2026

THE SPRING IS ETERNAL! The WATER IS BACK on for your stock. Water has been restored at Skillman. The GCTC crew found and fixed the leaks over this week. The storage tank filled over night AND Mary Johnson turned the water on to the campground this morning (Saturday, May 23). Please do what you can to conserve water so there will be water for everyone. Remember, this is natural spring water and is NOT TREATED, meaning it's fine for your stock, but humans drink at their own risk.

05/20/2026

UPDATE May 23, Saturday: The pipes are fixed and the water is back on!
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Thursday, May 21 - NO WATER! With the natural spring and 600 ft of decades-old pipes, it's always mysterious. Gold Country Trails Council and Tahoe National Forest have been working many hours this past week (including replacing the damaged valve) getting the water system back up and running. Right now it is doubtful that there will be water to the camp when it opens this Friday. BRING WATER FOR YOU AND YOUR STOCK!

05/20/2026

ALL ENTRY FEES BENEFIT GCTC FOR SKILLMAN HORSE CAMP AND THE TRAILS OF TAHOE NATIONAL FOREST.
Online registrations are open!
WHAT: 36th ANNUAL GCTC POKER RIDE FUNDRAISER
DATE: Saturday, June 13, 2026
WHERE: Skillman Horse Camp on Hwy 20, Nevada City
Old friends. New friends. Super food. Awesome prizes. Auction items. Best of all, riding and camping at 4,000 feet in the famous Skillman Horse Camp situated under large pines, cedars, and dogwoods in the beautiful Tahoe National Forest.
Just go to the main page and select the big orange button
"CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE 2026 POKER RIDE"
The ride will be 2-3 hours with options available for shorter or longer loops. Trails easy to moderate difficulty on beautifully wooded and well-marked trails.
ENTER TODAY!
https://www.goldcountrytrailscouncil.org/2026-poker-ride.html
(Ride is limited to 80 riders.)
ANY QUESTIONS?
Cathy Scott, Poker Ride Manager
[email protected]
CAMPSITE RESERVATIONS INFORMATION
================================================
Camp site reservations will be for TWO NIGHTS TOTAL:
Friday, June 12, 2pm to Sunday noon, June 14, 2026
No partial day reservations.
CAMPSITE FEES (NEW LOWER PRICES!!)
Go here to see fees and which camp sites are still available:
https://www.goldcountrytrailscouncil.org/2026-poker-ride-campsites.html
Camp has water for horses (bring water for humans), fire rings, picnic tables, vaulted restrooms and a dumpster for manure.
SEE Y'ALL THERE!
QUESTIONS??
Cathy Scott, Poker Ride Manager
[email protected]
https://www.goldcountrytrailscouncil.org/2026-poker-ride.html

36th Annual GOLD COUNTRY TRAILS COUNCIL FUNDRAISER Saturday, June 13, 2026 | Skillman Horse Camp

05/12/2026

Skillman Horse Camp joint (GCTC and NCWR) work day REPORT
-from Mary Johnson, GCTC Work Day Coordinator:
Thanks to an amazing turn out of Nevada County Woods Riders (NCWR) and the Gold Country Trails Council (GCTC} volunteers the joint Skillman workday was a huge success.
Large hazard trees that had been cut littered the campground making the loop road impassable. NCWR sawyers went to work, cut the logs into rounds, and rolled the rounds off the road. Members of both groups then moved the brush to piles along the road for later disposal, and raked and removed the small debris away from the camp sites.
GCTC members cleaned the fires rings, the rest rooms and the horse corrals. The campground is now in great shape for both clubs fundraising events that are staged out of Skillman Campground.
Thank you GCTC and NCWR volunteers!!!

05/06/2026

Great workday coming up MAY 9, 2026 with Gold Country Trails Council (GCTC) and the Nevada County Woods Riders (NCWR). These hard working folks will be cleaning up the camp, checking the spring, clearing trails, and fixing corrals.

05/05/2026

Gold Country Trails Council (GCTC) will be holding TWO Skillman Horse Camp workdays in May:
1. May 9, 2026 - starts at 9:00 am
GCTC members will be sprucing up the camp and surrounding trails for the June GCTC Poker Ride. On Saturday, May 9th, GCTC members will work with NCWR (Nevada County Woods Riders) members.
2. May 13, 2026 - starts at 9:00 AM
On Wednesday, May 13, GCTC members will finish up at the campground and work on surrounding trails.