Santee Lakes Wins National Awards for Park and Green Elements

Press release from Padre Dam Municipal Water District

Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve received “Large Park of the Year” for Park and Campgrounds and “Plan-It Green” awards from the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) at its annual hospitality conference on November 7 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

“The Park of the Year award is very competitive and to be considered one of the top two campgrounds is a great accomplishment. To be selected as the 'Large Park of the Year' is an affirmation that Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve has the best staff, facility and customer service in the nation!” said Johnathan O. Skinner, director of park and recreation for Santee Lakes.

The “Large Park of the Year” Award is recognition of all the efforts to keep Santee Lakes inviting for day use guests and campers alike. A few of the items highlighted include:

•      Web Site design – research, construction and implementation of a new web site that is user friendly

•      Marketing Plan – reaching day use, campers, anglers, picnickers and others to bring them and experience recreation on a higher level

•      Operations and Management Skills – ongoing staff training, customer service, safety accountability, all areas that each staff strive to achieve.

Once a gravel mine, Santee Lakes was created to clean the wastewater of the surrounding city of Santee and send the treated water from our Water Recycling Facility to other parts of Santee forlandscape irrigation and to divert it from going into the Pacific Ocean polluted. Now a series of seven lakes, Santee Lakes provides camping, fishing, boating, special events, picnic venues, and otherrecreation opportunities. The Park welcomes over 650,000 guests per year.

The “Plan-It” Green Award recognizes campgrounds that practice green initiatives throughout the facility. Santee Lakes strives to provide excellent facilities in a natural environment. One of the park’sobjectives over the last five years has been to become a green park. Some of the projects making Santee Lakes green include:

•      The addition of an award winning Photovoltaic Solar RV Storage Project with 14,000 solar arrays attached to RV storage units, which generate 50% of our campground energy needs while providing high demand RV storage facilities

•      Recycled water used throughout Santee Lakes in the seven lakes

•      Planting projects and programs with the community groups

•      Rehabilitation of islands on several lakes to preserve native habitats

•      Going “green” with paperless reservation confirmations

“Santee Lakes is honored to be recognized by ARVC for the efforts of Park staff and volunteers that keep Santee

Lakes at the forefront of green programming every year.” said Skinner.

Santee Lakes has positioned itself to always improve the end product. It provides a facility to meet the recreational needs of its patrons, from daily users to long term guests. Santee Lakes successfully met the criteria for the Park of the Year through several investments; marketing, commitment to the Outdoor Hospitality Industry, and our biggest asset, our staff. 

ARVC is a leader in outdoor hospitality and is the only national association exclusively representing the interests of private RV parks and campgrounds in the U.S. They serve and provide value-added service to over 3,000 members.

Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve hosts over 600,000 visitors a year. The 191-acre park with 7 beautiful recycled water lakes provides amenities including camping, fishing, boating, special events,playgrounds, trails, and 175 bird species. 

Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve is owned and operated by Padre Dam Municipal Water District. It is self-sustaining, receiving no funds from water/sewer ratepayers or taxpayer subsidies. The Park operates from user fees, grants and awards and collaborations with community groups and organization partnerships. 

Santee Lakes is located at 9310 Fanita Parkway, Santee in San Diego County. Call 619-596-3141 or visit www.santeelakes.com for additional information.