Deep Creek Lake State Park

We’ve been here twice now tent camping, in 2014 and again this year. We’ve never had any issues while in the park. Last time we did Wisp, hung around the state park and did some of the more touristy things. Wisp is a lot of fun in the summer; ropes courses, zip lines, downhill rollercarts, and more.
This time we found Swallow Falls park and did the hike to all the waterfalls which I highly recommend. We also enjoyed the newly remodeled discovery center at Deep Creek state park. They had reptiles on display as well as an aviary with Hawks, Eagles and owls.
The small beach is very close and admission is included when you stay overnight. The «downtown» area is only a few minutes away. And we saw a black bear this trip!

Deep Creek is beautiful! Awesome state park with beautiful waters, waterfalls, great hikes, gorgeous views and just all in all lots of fun.

DNR at this campground are extremely rude. They snuck up on our campsite and proceed to write citations. They told us we had a complaint the night before as well but we are not sure how considering we were all in bed by 10:15. Someone at the site used a curse word and they complained, although that is not against the law. They should just call themselves vacation ruiners. It was late in the season, there were barely any families even in the campground. What happened to the good old days where you would walk over and give a friendly «Hey can you guys quiet down a bit?» instead people are quick to call and complain 1 minute after quiet hours. This park used to be fun but now it is laden with rules

My girlfriend and I went up to Deep Creek Lake area, looking at buying some property/​vacation home. As an avid boater and love being out on my Personal Water Craft (PWC), I have to say that we were quite disappointed after coming all the way from the Northern Virginia/​DC area that when we pulled in to drop in the lake for a few hours before our appointment with some property sales rep, we were told we can’t be out on the water between 11am and 4pm. Something that they may want to put out on the main page of the Deep Creek Lake State park website, and not hidden in a small section of a sub link. Also still charge FULL price for use of the boat launch (BTW, no military discounts either like some places do). PWC’s do not have running lights so the only time we can use them is during the day. After speaking to some of the locals (whom were very nice and polite) who told us because of boater safety and those being towed on tubs. They have also warned us about the Park police stringent enforcement. Needless to say, my girlfriend and I toured around McHenry (great people), canceled our appointment with the sales rep, hit the water right at 4pm for a few hours, left and not looking back any time soon (unless the PWC rule gets changed, which I seriously doubt it will happen before we find another place to buy that does allow PWC’s ALL day, everyday).

Beautiful lake and the largest man made freshwater lake in Maryland. Perfect for family camping trips especially if you have children. Alcohol is not permitted in the park and quite hours are enforced. Camping areas allow tents and RV’s. Cabins are available for rent too ~ but only 3! The park accepts online reservations. If you don’t want to stay in the park, or their camping spots are full, there are two other camping places available close by. There are also some B&B’s In the area.
The lake is surrounded by picnic and sandy areas; so plenty of views while you enjoy your lunch! Swimming, fishing, hiking and boating are all happening here! They have a lot of outdoor games as well. The park is open year ’round and offers skiing and horse drawn sleigh rides in the winter!
There are nice restaurants close by so be sure to ask a local for directions to what your stomach is asking for!

My family and I have been coming to this camp ground for almost 20 years. In the past we have been very satisified but the last two years not so much. My family and I were there July 28 –August 3, 2014 and where was everything from people driving out of the grounds going the wrong way to people washing their dishes in the showers. Yes I said washing their dishes in the shower!!! The noise was terrible all week too. People were coming in at all hours of the evening and setting up their campsites, backing their campers in and shining their headlights right in your tent. I was under the impression that you couldn’t check in after 10 p.m. Also in the bathhouse there was a sensor light. What a pain that is because if you went to take your shower at
7 a.m. the light would come on when you walked in but after a few minutes it went off. So if you used the shower stall in the back you were in the dark. Definately didn’t like that. Like I said in the past we were very satisfied but it just seems like things are going down hill quickly. We are going to give this park one more try and I hope things are better.

5 stars, but I am very sympathetic to the concerns others have raised about the super-​strict park rangers. We had our fun time shut down promptly at 10 pm, both nights we were there. Same story last year, and the year before. That said, there were a lot of families there (not just the 75 triathletes I went with), and I can understand that they would want those quiet hours enforced.
The facilities are great. I saw some cleaning folks making the bathrooms spotless at around 7 am. By 7 pm, when I went for a shower, there was standing water/​muckiness around the 2 showers. But the water was warm, and the pressure was good.
Every campsite has a grilling ring.
Campsites can fit 2 cars. A third car needs to be parked at the camp office, about ¼ mile away.

As an avid camper and visitor to state parks all around the country I have had many good and a few bad experiences. This one was one of the bad ones. The park itself is very nice, however the issues I had were with the rangers. Quiet time starts at 10:00. Okay that’s the same everywhere. That does not mean that everyone goes to sleep at 10:00. My family and I chose this park to get together for our annual camping trip and for many of us this is the only time this summer we will see each other. So getting to spend as much time as possible together to catch up is our main reason to go camping. At about 10:35 we were approached by two rangers who proceeded to inform us that we were being too loud. Okay. Thank you we will quiet down. Nope. These men went on a Gestapo style power trip that ended with my mother and I being issued «disorderly conduct» warnings and threatened with a fine of $ 125 if they had to return. Now if we had a radio blasting or were swinging from trees yelling I could understand. This seemed like a harsh encounter for a family to deal with for talking around a campfire after quiet time. Needless to say this will be our last trip to this park. There are many more beautiful parks to camp that actually appreciate families bonding rather than sending the kids into the RV to stare at their iPhones once the sun goes down.

My favorite place to vacation. People are nice, cool weather, and can get there in less than 3 hours from most of the DC, Pittsburgh and Baltimore areas
and as a professional photographer, it is an ideal place to take pictures.
Here are some of my photos

Nice place to take the kids if you’re visiting for the summer.
Highlights were: (1) the Discovery Center, which has a nice display of fish, turtles, and wildlife on the main level with a clean restroom; and (2) the sandy beach area which has lifeguards and a pretty view across Deep Creek Lake. The park seems to be the only major public stretch of land on the shores of Deep Creek Lake.
My 7 yr old son really enjoyed the fishing 101 class offered by the Discovery Center staff. For $ 4 per person, a naturalist guided a small class of kids (ages 4 – 8) with the basics of casting with a spincast rod and safety with hooks. Be sure to step back when the kids practice casting their lines. We had a fun time and everybody caught a bluegill fish that morning (the class started at 9:30am).
The only reason for 4 stars (instead of 5) is the exhorbitantly high prices charged by a Wisp Resort concession stand near the sandy beach. Our family did not have time to try the hiking trails or other programs offered by the Discovery Center. When we come back next year, perhaps we will attempt the steep climb up Meadow Mountain, which should provide a commanding vista of Deep Creek Lake and miles beyond.

Camped here June 27^th to July 1^st. We have been to many of the Md. state parks and I think this is one of the best so far (we have a goal to camp in every Md. state park). Weather was perfect. It was 85 and sunny with little humidity (over 100 at home near Annapolis). The campsites were very neat and the pad was level. It was a little tricky manuvering and backing in the trailer on the tight campgound roads. Bathrooms were old but tidy. Didn’t see much of the camp hosts, but that is ok with us. We did wish they would enforce the rules a little better, 7 cars and 5 dogs in two campsites. We love dogs but not when they bark early in the morning and late at night. The beach was nice, plenty of shade in the grass areas and two beaches both with life guards. We will be returning.

Check out this great park! The Discovery Center and Aviary are Amazing!

You never would’ve known you were still in Maryland.
This state park is so far out there, I would’ve thought we were in Ohio by the time we arrived. On a Friday evening, we sat through rush hour traffic around 495, up 270, down 70 all the way to Hagerstown. Who commutes between DC and Hagerstown?!
Anyways, the park sits on the beautiful lovely serene Deep Creek Lake, surrounded by mountains and dotted by boats. We camped there for a weekend, and the accommodations were generally as roomy and well-​kept as other state park campgrounds we’ve seen. Each gravel pad has a fire ring with a grate for cooking and a picnic table. Bathrooms are not spotless, but on the cleaner side minus some cobwebs and daddy long legs, and the hot showers are awesome when you’re feeling grimy. The outside of the bathrooms also had big deep sinks for washing dishes, likely to help prevent bear encounters.
Be ye warned! Signs everywhere declared it was bear country (but we didn’t see the Berensteins) and so campers were required to pack up all foodstuffs, cooking and eating utensils, dishes, and trash when not cooking or eating. The dumpster here was the fanciest one I’d ever seen, too. It was self-​compacting. Some bozos couldn’t read the instructions on it, so they left their trash on the side. Dummies.
The campgrounds are surrounded by hiking trails as well. We did about 3 miles on the Indian Turnip Trail and the very very steep Fire Power Trail. If we took a wrong step coming down that trail, we would’ve tumbled to the bottom. But it was cool because there were tons of wild raspberries on that trail.
The state park is located on the southern side of the lake, but is within easy driving distance of Wisp, the very cute Trader’s Coffee House, the ice cream place, market, marinas and all of that. The park has its own boat launch area and supposedly a swim area. If what I saw was the swimming area, it was teeny tiny and duck poop was all over the grassy parts surrounding it.
The biggest downside to me, besides the super long drive, was that while the DC area and the beaches got weather in the mid 80s, it was 65 degrees for the highs during the day and cold enough to see your breath at night. It was very unsummery. But I guess that’s what happens up in the mountains.