Lake Pillsbury is a lake in the Mendocino National Forest of Lake County, California, created from the Eel River and Hull Mountain watershed by Scott Dam. Elevation is with of shoreline and covering . Activities in the Lake Pillsbury Recreation Area include powerboating, fishing, swimming, sailing, picnicking, hiking and hang gliding. There are two main access roads to the lake. At the north end of the lake is a small gravel airstrip. About 400 vacation cabins including National Forest Recreational Residences (private cabin leases of public lands) ring the lake. History In 1906, W.W. Van Arsdale formed the Eel River Power and Irrigation Company and contracted with the city of Ukiah for a hydroelectric generating station to increase electricity supply for the city. A diversion dam was built on the Eel River and a mile-long tunnel was constructed to divert water into the Russian River. A powerhouse was constructed in Potter Valley. It was called the Potter Valley Project or Eel River Project. Later that year, the Snow Mountain Water and Power Company incorporated and took over the project from Van Arsdale's company. By 1908 water was being diverted to the power plant and then to the Russian River. Part two of the project was building the dam which created Lake Pillsbury, located upstream. Scott Dam was completed in 1921 as a concrete gravity structure, 138 feet high, 805 feet long at its crest, and impounding a maximum capacity of 86,400 acre-feet. It maintains water flow to the hydroelectric plant during times of low water runoff. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) acquired the project in 1933, and maintains the facilities today. The lake is named for one of the founders of Snow Mountain Water and Power Company. The Pillsbury hydroelectric plant is the only one in the north coast region of California operated by PG&E. In 1969, performers Jack Haley and Jackie Gleason purchased the Fuller Ranch and created the Pillsbury Ranch subdivision. In 2019, PG&E notified the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission they would not seek to re-license the Potter Valley project noting the project was no longer economically viable. As part of PG&E's divestment of the Potter Valley Hydropower Project, PG&E will need to submit a decommissioning plan to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission when the Project's license expires in April 2022. Recreation There are five campgrounds, two group campgrounds, two paved boat ramps and a resort at