Deep Creek Lake Area, Maryland: A Four Season Wonderland
By James Houck
An oasis for all, Deep Creek Lake and its surrounding towns offer a mountain of seasonal activities for the entire family. From summer boating and fishing to winter skiing and dog sledding, you and yours can pencil in full days’ worth of fun any time of the year. We recently did just that and had an exhilarating weekend getaway that went far beyond our expectations.
Long known as a recreation destination, the Deep Creek Lake area, in western Maryland’s Garrett County, has undergone a sort of renaissance lately, with new businesses opening, old ones renovating, and a push to expose the off-the-beaten-path sites and activities, which are definitely worth exploring. Deep Creek Lake is Maryland’s largest freshwater lake, at 3,900 acres. In 1923, an electric power company created the lake on a tributary of the Youghiogheny River. Today the lake is purely recreational and supports a hospitable community. Together with its lakeside neighbor, Wisp Resort, the area is a thriving outdoor sports paradise.
My wife and I made the three and a half hour scenic drive from Annapolis to Deep Creek. We stayed at one of the outstandingly furnished Sunplace condominium units (reservations made through Coldwell Banker Deep Creek Realty), located on the waterfront, with a priceless view of the Wisp Resort just across the lake. With a full schedule of activities to conquer, after we arrived we immediately took off for Wisp without a moment’s rest. Wisp, in case you haven’t visited in several seasons, has undergone many new renovations and additions. It has expanded and updated the popular restaurant and pub DC’s (great ski-break eats and drinks, by the way), added a sports bar, remodeled the slope-side hotel, and added many star attractions to the already popular mountain: a Mountain Coaster (a cross between go-carts and a roller coaster), a recirculating whitewater kayak course (on top of the mountain!), several new ski trails on the eastern side of the mountain, and a tubing park.
While Wisp is known as Maryland’s only ski resort, it also offers a bounty of spring and summer activities, such as skateboarding, mountain biking, paintball, mountain boarding (think skateboarding on steroids!), and water sports. After cruising the slopes by ski and by snowboard we tried the Mountain Coaster (one of only four in North America), experiencing the most thrilling 60 seconds of the weekend in individual coasters (speeding more than 30 mph) on a track that whips and whirls down the mountain.
If you are looking for a more peaceful venture a horse-drawn carriage ride through the countryside might suit you well. Pleasant Valley Dream Rides offers picturesque carriage rides as well as tours of a working Amish dairy farm (the kids will love the opportunity to milk a cow or bottle-feed the darling calves). Nearby, Schoolhouse Earth in Friendsville is the perfect place to shop for handmade gifts, crafts, and artwork. We made a pit stop at the charming shopping cottage and loved browsing all the unique items for sale. Afterwards we dined at Bent Fork Bistro, which opened in August 2007. Located just minutes from the lake area, the family friendly restaurant has Old World appeal, cozy atmosphere, great staff, and live music and it serves absolutely delicious meals. We finished our evening on an epicurean note, retiring to our condo to enjoy a bottle of fine wine, with a crackling fireplace inside and a gorgeous view of the lake illuminated by the Wisp resort outside. For the nightlife-inspired, Deep Creek doesn’t disappoint. There’s the famed Honi Honi Bar and the hottest nightclub in the area, Black Bear Tavern, features top dance bands from Pittsburgh and Baltimore year-round.
Day two saw us rise early and head straight to Traders Coffee House for a java fix before embarking for Deep Creek Lake State Park, where we hiked along several trails that meandered through the woods and along creeks that branched from the main lake. If hiking by foot isn’t your cup of tea, then let the dogs do the hiking for you. Husky Power Dog Sledding, only two miles from the lake, has a real team of Siberian Huskies that pull visitors, in sleds, over scenic trails. No snow? No worries. The outfit even has sleds-on-wheels, for a dog sledding adventure any time of year. After our little hiking adventure, having worked up an appetite we decided to hit Brenda’s Pizzeria for some New York style pizza. Awesome!
And so we left Deep Creek Lake thoroughly satisfied with our short weekend adventure. Our only regret was that we didn’t have enough time to visit all the wonderful sights and attractions the area has to offer. Hidden gems such as the Garrett County Arts Council Gallery, the Painted Cupboard (handmade pottery, furniture, gifts), the 1884 B&O Railroad Station/Shoppe at Heritage Square (featuring quality craftspeople), Studio 24E (unique artwork, home furnishings, jewelry), and Book Mark’et & Antique Mezzanine will be on our list next visit. We can’t wait!
If You Go
How to Get There: From Annapolis and point East, take Route 50 West, get on Route 97 North, and go 15 miles. Exit onto Maryland Route 100 West and take it for 13 miles. Exit onto Route 29 North for three miles before merging onto Interstate 70 West toward Frederick. Travel 90 miles, and then merge onto Interstate 68 West toward Cumberland. Travel 67, passing through Cumberland, then exit onto US-219 South toward Oakland. Travel 14 miles to the Deep Creek Lake area.