Deep Creek Lake in Fall
Fall color in Garrett County usually peaks in mid-October, about a week ahead of the rest of Maryland, because the county is the highest ground in the state. The Autumn Glory Festival fills Oakland around the second full weekend of October, with the Grand Feature Parade on the Saturday. Festival week and the peak-foliage weekends around it are the busiest of the Deep Creek year, so book lodging and dinner early.
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When to come
Two dates shape a fall trip here, and they tend to land on the same weekend.
The first is peak color. Garrett County is the highest ground in Maryland, and elevation moves foliage faster than latitude does. The ridges start turning in late September, and the change works its way downhill through the first half of October. Mid-October is the reliable time. Peak moves across the county over a week or so. The spruce ridges can be past it and thinning while the oaks along the shoreline are just beginning. If you have one weekend, book around the second full weekend of October and you’ll catch peak somewhere.
The second is the Autumn Glory Festival, five days in mid-October. It usually lands on or around that same weekend, because the county built the festival around the color.
That weekend books early. If it’s full, come later in October. The color at lake level often holds after the ridges have finished, the festival crowd has gone home, and at Wildom Farm the October dinner is the last of the year. Maryland’s black bear season runs October 26 to 31, and the state forests and wildlife areas here are all open to it. The state parks are closed to it. Wear orange in the forest, or walk at Swallow Falls and Deep Creek Lake State Park.
Midweek, if you can
Swallow Falls on a Tuesday in mid-October is the same gorge it is on a Saturday, with open parking spaces and quiet roads.
Most of the festival happens Friday through Sunday, and a few seasonal businesses open only on weekends by then. If Autumn Glory is the point of the trip, come for the weekend. If the color is the point, come on a Tuesday.
The festival, if you are staying in McHenry
Autumn Glory is an Oakland event. The Grand Feature Parade and Sunday’s car show both happen downtown, at the south end of the lake, and on Saturday the streets along the parade route close hours before it starts.
Two things happen in McHenry itself. The festival opens on Wednesday with the kick-off at Wisp, and the Craft and Gift Sale runs Friday and Saturday at the Garrett County Fairgrounds, up Route 219. Entry and parking are free, so it’s an easy festival outing on a day you’d like to stay close.
For the parade, drive down to Oakland and get there before the streets close. Parking on the route isn’t allowed, so use the free town lot at the end of 2nd Street, across the tracks.
Where the color is
In fall, the forest is the draw. The lake is cold and quiet by then, with the boats largely out of the water, and the woods that cover most of Garrett County take over. The good days are spent inland, in the gorge at Swallow Falls, on the ridges above New Germany, or on one of the two driving loops the county publishes.
For a drive, take the southern loop. It leaves from the visitor center in McHenry, runs south and east through farm country and back, and it’s free.
For a walk, go to Swallow Falls. The hemlocks there are old growth and stay black-green all season, and the maples turn gold and red against them. The loop takes about an hour, and the dog can come.
Pair it with the Rock Maze, off Snaggy Mountain Road: a field of boulders the size of houses, with passages worn between and under them. It’s about half an hour of easy walking from a roadside pull-off.
In September, go to Cranesville. Its hollow pools cold air, so fall comes there about a month ahead of everywhere else, and the gold tamaracks are usually done by the time the rest of the county peaks. Wear boots, and leave the dog behind for this one.
Booking
Festival week and the peak-foliage weekends around it are the busiest for lodging at Deep Creek. If your dates fall around the second full weekend of October, book your stay first and plan everything else from there. Reserve dinner in Oakland and McHenry ahead that week too. The lake guide describes each part of the lake, and if the weather turns, the rainy-day guide has the indoor options.
Where to go
Walks for two
A loop of a little over a mile, mostly flat, runs through a gorge of old-growth hemlock and rhododendron past four waterfalls: Muddy Creek Falls, Upper and Lower Swallow Falls, and Tolliver Falls. Muddy Creek Falls is Maryland's tallest free-falling waterfall, at 53 feet. In October the maples turn gold and red against the dark hemlocks.
- For couples
- Dog friendly
- Works midweek
A field of house-sized boulders in Potomac-Garrett State Forest, with rhododendron draped over the stone. The walk is short, so it fits into a foliage morning with Swallow Falls. The trailhead is an easy-to-miss pull-off on Snaggy Mountain Road, so save the location before you lose signal.
- For couples
- Dog friendly
- Works midweek
A quiet park joined to Swallow Falls by a forest connector trail. The connector is at its best after peak, when the bare canopy opens up the views. It's 5.5 miles one way, or 11 miles there and back without a second car at the far end. Most people walk partway in from the Herrington side and turn around.
- For couples
- Dog friendly
The park is on the lake's northeast shore, below Meadow Mountain, and its trails leave the water and climb into hardwood almost at once. The state parks charge a day-use fee year-round. The Discovery Center is free and indoors.
- For couples
- Dog friendly
- Rainy day
Afternoons and evenings
The lift runs spring through late October and goes up the mountain for a view over the lake, without the climb. Fall hours are shorter than summer's and change from week to week.
- For couples
- Works midweek
Once a month, dinner is served at one long table out in the pasture. The meat and the cooking fat come from the farm, and the rest from other Garrett County growers. The menu is set a few days ahead around whatever is ready, and dinner runs three hours or more. Bring your own wine, and they set out a bar with mixers and soft drinks. They can cook gluten-free and dairy-free. The menu is built around the farm's meat, so it doesn't suit vegetarians or vegans. The dinners run May to October. The October dinner is the last of the year and the only one in foliage season. Dress warm for a field in October after dark.
- For couples
A winery outside Oakland, at the south end of the lake. On a cold October afternoon, sit out on the patio by the fire pits with a glass of wine. Leashed dogs are welcome there.
- For couples
- Dog friendly
Hour-long rides out of Oakland, at the south end of the lake, from an outfit that has run trail rides since 1970. In October you see the color from the saddle. The 4-mile ride goes through fields, an old apple orchard and wooded mountainside with the lake in view. Rides run all year. Book ahead.
- For couples
A warm stop after a cold walk at Swallow Falls, at the north end of the lake. There's wood-fired flatbread and beer brewed on site, and dogs are welcome.
- For couples
- Dog friendly
- Works midweek
Festival week
The Saturday of festival week, starting on Omar Street. It runs the length of 2nd Street, finishes on 3rd, and is free to watch. Streets along the route close hours before the parade starts, and there's no parking on them. Park in the free town lot at the end of 2nd Street, across the railroad tracks.
- For couples
Woodwork, candles, jewelry and preserves at Ag Heritage Hall in the Garrett County Fairgrounds, up Route 219 from McHenry. Entry and parking are free.
- For couples
- Rainy day
Drives and villages
A self-guided loop from the Garrett County Visitor Center in McHenry, south on Route 219 and east on Route 135. A shorter northern loop runs through Friendsville, past Youghiogheny Lake and a string of barn quilts. Both are free and printable, and they make a good wet day.
- For couples
- Rainy day
- Works midweek
Log-cabin studios at Grantsville, home to woodworkers, potters, blacksmiths and weavers, with Penn Alps next door in an 1818 inn. The village sits at the foot of the 1813 Casselman River stone arch bridge. The studios close for the season on October 31.
- For couples
- Rainy day
A walk-in area, gated at both ends. You park off Route 219 and set off on foot, past a red spruce bog that is rare this far south. Come for the color, and mind the calendar: Maryland's black bear season runs October 26 to 31, and this ground is hunted. Wear orange that week, or walk somewhere else.
- For couples
- Dog friendly
Out past Grantsville, the land gets steeper and higher and turns almost entirely to hardwood, so the color comes early and strong. Monroe Run Vista, off New Germany Road, looks out over the whole forest.
- For couples
Earlier in the season
A bog left behind by the last ice age, in a frost pocket cold enough to hold red spruce, hemlock and tamarack this far south. The tamaracks are larches, conifers that turn gold and drop their needles, and in that cold they turn about a month ahead of the rest of the county. Mid-September is the time to see them, and by the second full weekend of October they're usually done. The approach is gravel and the ground is wet. Dogs aren't allowed on the trails.
- For couples
Common questions
- When is peak fall foliage at Deep Creek Lake?
- Usually mid-October. Color starts in late September at the highest elevations and works downhill, and Garrett County, the highest ground in Maryland, peaks about a week before the rest of the state. Elevation matters as much as the calendar. In the same week, the ridge tops can be past peak while the oaks down by the lake are just starting to turn.
- How do I check fall color before I travel?
- Maryland DNR publishes a weekly foliage report from mid-September into November, put together from foresters and rangers around the state, including one in Garrett County. It reports the color they're seeing on the ground that week.
- Is it better to visit Deep Creek midweek or on the weekend in October?
- Midweek, if your schedule allows. The color is the same on a Tuesday, there's room in the Swallow Falls parking area, and the roads are quiet. Some Autumn Glory events and a few seasonal businesses are open only on weekends.
- Is there a farm dinner near Deep Creek Lake?
- Yes. Wildom Farm at McHenry serves a multi-course dinner at a long communal table out in the pasture, once a month from May to October. The meat is raised on the farm, and the rest comes from other Garrett County growers. Dinner runs three hours or more, and you bring your own wine. The October dinner is the last of the year and comes after the Autumn Glory crowd has gone home. Seats are limited, so book well ahead.
- Where is the Rock Maze near Deep Creek Lake?
- In Potomac-Garrett State Forest, off Snaggy Mountain Road near the Cranesville Road junction, southwest of Oakland. It pairs well with Swallow Falls. The trailhead is a small roadside pull-off that's easy to drive past, and signage there has come and gone. Signal is patchy, so save the location before you set off. The walk is under a mile there and back and takes about half an hour. It is a separate place from Fork Run Recreation Area, which some listings confuse it with.
- When is the Autumn Glory Festival?
- Mid-October, around the second full weekend of the month. It runs Wednesday to Sunday, centered on downtown Oakland, at the south end of the lake, with the kick-off at Wisp. Check the festival site for this year's dates.
- Should I stay in McHenry or Oakland for Autumn Glory?
- Many visitors stay in McHenry and drive down to Oakland for the Saturday, arriving ahead of the road closures. The Grand Feature Parade and the Sunday car show are both in downtown Oakland, at the south end of the lake. McHenry, at the north end, has Wisp, where the festival kicks off, along with the marina, most of the restaurants and the Craft and Gift Sale at the Fairgrounds.
- Where do you park for the Autumn Glory parade?
- There is a free town lot at the end of 2nd Street in Oakland, across the railroad tracks. Parking isn't allowed along the route itself, on 2nd, 3rd, Alder and Omar, and those streets close several hours before the parade starts. Arrive early.
- What else happens during Autumn Glory week?
- The kick-off at Wisp on Wednesday, the Craft and Gift Sale at the Garrett County Fairgrounds on Friday and Saturday, the Grand Feature Parade on Saturday afternoon, a high school band tournament that evening, and a car show in Oakland on Sunday. The Maryland State Banjo, Mandolin and Fiddle Championships fall on the Friday or the Saturday, depending on the year. All week, churches and community halls across the county serve traditional turkey dinners on the Turkey Trail. The festival grew out of those dinners in 1968.
- Can I bring a dog to the Autumn Glory Festival?
- Ask the Garrett County Chamber before bringing a dog into downtown Oakland on parade day, since the parade and the craft sale have no published pet policy. Leashed dogs are generally welcome on the trails and in the state parks around the lake. The exception is Cranesville Swamp, which doesn't allow dogs.
- Do the state parks charge admission in the fall?
- Yes. The state parks charge a day-use fee year-round. In summer, Swallow Falls also requires a day-use reservation. The Discovery Center at Deep Creek Lake State Park is free.
- What is there to do at Deep Creek in October if it rains?
- The two self-guided foliage driving tours show off the color from the car. Spruce Forest Artisan Village at Grantsville is open through the end of October, with Penn Alps next door, and the Discovery Center at Deep Creek Lake State Park is free. Both are indoors.
Where to stay
A romantic hideaway, tucked into the fall color.
Nightwood is a luxury cabin, thoughtfully designed for couples, on two wooded acres at the north end of the lake. Watch the leaves turn from the loft's wall of windows, and end a cool October evening together in the hot tub beneath the deck. Your dog stays free.
See Nightwood