Lake Snowden is a 136-acre reservoir inside a 675-acre education and recreation park run by Hocking College, the public technical college based in Nelsonville. It sits in Athens County, Ohio, about a mile and a half northeast of the village of Albany and roughly six miles southwest of Athens. The lake is the largest of four flood control reservoirs in the Margaret Creek Conservancy District. It was built in the late 1960s with federal soil conservation money, opened to the public in 1972, and was bought by Hocking College from the Le-Ax Water District in 1998. The college also runs a fish hatchery on the property.

The park entrance is at 5900 US Highway 50 in Albany, on the south side of the lake. The swim area is on the south shore near the boat ramp and kayak launch, a short walk from the parking lot. Inside the park the speed limit is 10 mph, and parking is only allowed in marked lots and at campsites, not along the roads or on the grass. The park now uses an entry gate, which the college added in 2024 to deal with illegal activity, especially in the off-season.

The beach is a mix of grass and sand facing a roped swimming area. The college lists the maximum depth inside the rope at about seven feet, while the lake itself reaches around 42 feet in its deepest part. There is no lifeguard on duty at any time, so swimming is at your own risk, and anyone 15 or younger needs adult supervision. The beach is open every day from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The posted beach rules give hours of 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and the swimming page adds that swimming is allowed in daylight only and that times can change. For several summers the beach had floating inflatables, but the college removed them in 2024 after wildlife damaged them, and it did not replace them.

Swimming itself costs nothing, but every vehicle entering the park needs a parking pass. Hocking College charges $8 for a daily pass and $75 for a season pass. Fishing and boating are also free once you are parked, though anglers 16 and older need an Ohio fishing license and boats need a valid Ohio registration.

The rules are stricter than at many lakes. Swimming is allowed only at the designated beach and never beyond the rope or off a boat. Only Coast Guard approved life jackets are allowed, so no pool floats or tubes. Pets, alcohol and glass are banned from the beach area, and fishing is not allowed there. The lake is idle speed only, which keeps the water calm around the swim area, but kayaks and boats from the nearby launch share the south end, so stay inside the rope.

Lake Snowden is also a campground with 125 sites in four areas (Locust Grove, Big Oak, Hickory and Hilltop), most with electric hookups, plus a shower house and two reservable shelter houses. Riders use more than 12 miles of horse trails, and anglers come for bluegill, crappie, catfish, largemouth bass and northern pike. Every September the park hosts the Ohio Pawpaw Festival, and the park is far busier than usual that weekend.