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WATERSKI MagazineSo secretive is this little skiing alcove that folks in the Texas panhandle will tell you exactly where to look on the map, and be confident you won't find it. Northeast of Amarillo by 120 miles, Lake Fryer is such a small bulge on Wolf Creek that it's dwarfed, if not lost, among larger water bodies like Lake Meredith and Palo Duro Reservoir. And that's what makes it so unique.
“It's basically one main body of water with barely noticeable coves, so we barefoot, wakeboard and open-water slalom across the whole thing,” says Michelle Crowell, who travels to the lake with her husband, John from Pampa, Texas, about 20 times a summer. “Ours is usually the only boat out there during the week. It's like having our own private site.”
A few others have stumbled across Fryer, including former world barefoot champion Mike Seipel, who has hosted clinics here.
“It's definitely a site I'd recommend,” says Seipel. “You're assured of calm water on a good portion of the lake because of the high banks and trees.”
Wolf Creek Park, which surrounds Lake Fryer, is a bit of an aberration to traditional west Texas. Dust and flatlands associated with New Mexico start to transform into rolling wheat fields with banks of yucca plants the closer you get to Perryton. The desolate road slopes into a canyon, then sharply rises on the other side, where thick cottonwoods appear around the park, providing a wall to the winds that can sweep through the area.
“The best skiing is in September when the winds die down,” says Crowell. Nights start cooling considerably by the first of October, so skiers would want to pack a wetsuit.
The word “crowd” is not associated with the town of Perryton, the closest populated territory to Lake Fryer (17 miles). K-Bob's Steakhouse and the Amoco station on Highway 15 are touted as two major employers in the area. That's as urban as it gets, which is why, even with all this description and the maps, Lake Fryer will never lose its privacy. – Robert Stephens
