Outdoor Adventures at Deep Creek Lake
Deep Creek Lake fishes all year for walleye, smallmouth and largemouth bass, yellow perch and northern pike, and Garrett County's Youghiogheny and Savage Rivers have stretches set aside for catch-and-release and trophy trout. The county's state forests and wildlife management areas are open to public hunting, with Sunday deer hunting on designated lands. Mountain bikers ride purpose-built singletrack at Margraff Plantation, Herrington Manor and Fork Run, and off-road riders head for Wolf Den Run State Park and the St. John's Rock ORV Trail.
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The sport is the trip
Plenty of people come to Deep Creek and barely sit by the lake. They come for the first walleye after the spring opener, a week in a tree stand in November, or a morning on the Yough with a fly rod. Garrett County is the highest ground in Maryland, and much of it is state forest and wildlife land open to the public.
Licenses and the river
A Maryland non-tidal fishing license covers the lake and the trout rivers. Maryland DNR sells it online, and bait shops like Lazy Minnow sell it over the counter. The lake guide covers who needs one. Hunting licenses come through DNR as well, and its current hunting guide has each season’s dates. Check before you go.
The Yough below the dam rises fast. When the power plant releases water, the river comes up without much warning. Check the release schedule before you wade the catch-and-return area, and get out at the first sign of rising water.
Sharing the woods
The state forests are working land, and in the fall hunters share them with hikers, mountain bikers and dog walkers. Hunters and anyone helping them wear fluorescent orange or pink, and everyone else on the trails should too. The hiking guide covers the hunting seasons from the trail side.
Riding off-road
Every off-road vehicle on Maryland state land needs a Maryland DNR registration sticker, renewed each year, unless it carries MVA plates. DNR sells it online and at the state park and forest offices in the county. At Wolf Den Run, every rider and passenger wears a DOT-approved helmet and eye protection, and full-size vehicles need roll-over protection and seat belts. Engines in Maryland’s woodlands need a spark-arresting muffler. Stay on the marked trails, which hikers and mountain bikers share.
Elsewhere on the site
The water guide covers boat and kayak rentals and guided rafting on the Middle and Lower Yough. Hiking has its own guide, from Swallow Falls to Monroe Run. For skiing, snowmobiling and cross-country trails, see the winter guide. Farther afield, the day-trips guide covers Fallingwater, Blackwater Falls and Cumberland.
Where to go, by sport
Fishing the lake
Maryland DNR's surveys find walleye abundant in the lake. The season is closed from March 1 to April 15 while they spawn, and every fish between 18 and 21 inches goes back. In spring and fall they move up onto rocky points and shallow flats, and plenty of anglers fish for them after dark.
- For couples
Smallmouth hold along the rocky shoreline toward the dam, and largemouth in the shallow, weedy coves at the south end of the lake. From March 1 through June 15, Maryland's non-tidal bass are catch-and-release only, so you can fish for them through the spawn and keep a few from mid-June on.
- For couples
Yellow perch run big here, with no closed season, and they come into the shallows where a worm under a slip bobber finds them. Bluegill, crappie and pumpkinseed fill out a day. Maryland DNR reports northern pike over 40 inches caught regularly.
- For couples
Maryland DNR calls Deep Creek the state's premier ice fishing destination, when the winter is cold enough. Walleye, perch and bluegill are the usual targets. Before you drill a hole, test the ice yourself on the day: DNR's guidance is at least four inches of new, clear ice, and no ice is ever guaranteed safe.
- For couples
- Winter
A bait shop and fishing charter at the north end of the lake. The shop sells live bait, tackle and fishing licenses, and the guided trips go out for bass, walleye and perch, from a short intro trip to a full day.
- For couples
Trout rivers
Four miles of the Yough, from the Deep Creek power plant tailrace down to the Sang Run Bridge, fished with artificial lures and flies only, and every trout goes back. Cold water drawn from deep in the lake keeps it fishing through the summer. It's wade-fishing water, reached off Oakland Sang Run Road. Releases from the plant raise the river fast, so check the release schedule before you step in.
- For couples
Below the Savage River Reservoir, in Savage River State Forest east of the lake, the river is managed for wild brown and native brook trout, with no stocking. The first 1.25 miles below the dam are fly fishing only. The rest, to the river's mouth, is artificial lures and flies. Trophy rules apply throughout, with high minimum sizes for browns and brookies, and a single hook is required.
- For couples
A delayed-harvest trout stream out by Grantsville, east of the lake, from below the I-68 bridge to the Pennsylvania line. From October through mid-June it's catch-and-return, and from mid-June through September you can keep trout. It's a beginner-friendly freestone stream.
- For couples
A fly shop and guide service on Savage River Road in Swanton, with guided wade trips and raft float trips on the Savage, the North Branch of the Potomac and the streams around them. Book trips ahead.
- For couples
Hunting
The county's biggest public hunting ground, more than 55,000 acres of ridges and hollows east of the lake, toward Grantsville. Deer, turkey, bear and small game are all hunted here, and it's one of the designated public lands open to Sunday deer hunting. Hikers, mountain bikers and dog walkers use the same forest, so expect company on the roads and trails.
- For couples
Potomac-Garrett covers rugged mountain ground south of Oakland, up onto Backbone Mountain, in mixed oak and hemlock. Garrett State Forest wraps around Herrington Manor and Swallow Falls, west of the lake. Both are open to public hunting and designated for Sunday deer hunting.
- For couples
Two state wildlife management areas. Mount Nebo is a walk-in area off Route 219, south of Oakland, gated at both ends. Cunningham Swamp, in the middle of the county, is a wetland with thick cover for grouse, woodcock, deer and bear, and trapping there is by permit. Both are open to Sunday deer hunting.
- For couples
Archery season runs in segments from September into January, with muzzleloader segments around the gun season. The firearm deer season opens on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and lasts about two weeks. Maryland sets the dates each year, so plan the trip from DNR's current hunting guide.
- For couples
Spring gobbler season runs from mid-April into late May. Garrett is one of only three Maryland counties with a fall turkey season, a short one around the start of November. Black bear is hunted by lottery permit only, over six days in late October, with applications taken in the summer.
- For couples
Maryland DNR lists three approved deer processors in Garrett County, including Yoder's Butcher Barn in Grantsville and EJ's Meat Processing in Bittinger. Call ahead in gun season. If you're taking a deer home to another state, check that state's carcass import rules before you leave.
- For couples
Mountain biking
Almost 10 miles of purpose-built trail in Savage River State Forest, near Accident, just north of the lake. There are beginner, intermediate and advanced lines, gravel roads for an easy spin, and a 2-mile adaptive loop built for hand cycles and three-wheeled bikes.
- For couples
County-owned trails at the north end of the lake, near Wisp, with just over 8 miles of singletrack that gets rocky and steep in places. The Acorn Loop is surfaced in smooth crushed limestone, easy going for anyone. The Yellow Trail leads out to the ledges and a rock-climbing face.
- For couples
Grassy, gently graded loops for an easy ride, and narrow singletrack out from the lakehouse for a harder one, all inside Garrett State Forest. The park rents fat-tire bikes all year. The state parks charge a day-use fee year-round.
- For couples
- Winter
Every trail in the park is open to mountain bikes, Meadow Mountain included. The park describes the Lookout Trail as built to challenge even skilled riders. Parts of the park are hunted in season, so wear something bright in the fall.
- For couples
Bikes are allowed on the forest roads and trails across Savage River State Forest, New Germany's trail system and Poplar Lick included. The Big Savage and Monroe Run trails are for hikers only.
- For couples
A bike, ski and paddle shop on Route 219 along the lake, renting hardtail and full-suspension mountain bikes by the day. They also sell and service bikes. Rentals are first come, first served.
- For couples
On the river
Between Sang Run and Friendsville, the Youghiogheny drops more than 100 feet a mile on average through a roadless gorge, and it runs on the dam's scheduled whitewater releases. It's expert water. Precision Rafting, in Friendsville, guides raft trips down it.
- For couples
Off-roading
A state park built for off-road riding, southeast of Oakland near Kitzmiller, along the North Branch of the Potomac. ATVs, side-by-sides, dirt bikes and street-registered 4x4s share more than 50 miles of designated routes across three areas, and part of the Huckleberry Rocks trail is open to full-size vehicles. Expect mud wallows, rocky ground and steep hill climbs. Motorized riders pay a day-use fee per person, and riding is in daylight hours. The trails close to vehicles for the two-week firearms deer season after Thanksgiving. Dogs are welcome on a leash.
- For couples
A state-built off-road trail in Savage River State Forest, south of I-68 near Finzel, with motorcycle singletrack, ATV loops and a rock crawl for four-wheel-drive vehicles. Bring your own machine, registered with Maryland DNR as an off-road vehicle or carrying MVA plates. Jeeps and other full-width 4x4s stay off the technical loops and the singletrack. No reservation is needed to ride, and the loops and rock crawl are daylight only.
- For couples
Hour-long guided side-by-side tours out of Oakland, at the south end of the lake, from the farm that runs the Western Trails horseback rides. There are two-seat and four-seat machines, and the route crosses wooded hillside and open fields. Book ahead.
- For couples
Guided tours on two-seat touring ATVs, run by an outfit in Bloomington, southeast of Oakland on the Potomac. Every tour starts with a safety briefing and a lesson on the machine, so first-time riders are welcome. Helmets, goggles and gloves are supplied. Bring a driver's license, wear long pants and closed-toe shoes, and dress to get muddy, since tours run in most weather.
- For couples
More ways outside
The Glades at Meshach Run, in McHenry Community Park at the north end of the lake toward Accident, is free to play and needs no reservation. Wisp has a course at the base of the mountain, and in summer its Mountain Course starts with a chairlift ride to the top. Discs are available to rent.
- For couples
A cold frost-pocket bog where northern birds nest this far south: golden-crowned kinglet, alder flycatcher, Nashville warbler and the northern saw-whet owl. More than 100 species have been recorded there. Dogs aren't allowed.
- For couples
Common questions
- When is the best time to fish Deep Creek Lake?
- Spring and fall, though the lake fishes all year. Walleye season reopens in mid-April after a closure that starts March 1, and walleye and perch move shallow again as the water cools in the fall. Bass are catch-and-release from March through mid-June. In a cold winter, the lake becomes an ice fishery.
- Where can you fly fish near Deep Creek Lake?
- On the Youghiogheny below the Deep Creek dam, and on the Savage River below its reservoir. The Yough's catch-and-return area runs 4 miles from the power plant to the Sang Run Bridge, with artificial lures and flies only. The first 1.25 miles of the Savage tailwater are fly fishing only, for wild brown and brook trout.
- Can you hunt near Deep Creek Lake?
- Yes. Savage River, Potomac-Garrett and Garrett State Forests and the Mount Nebo and Cunningham Swamp wildlife management areas are all open to public hunting. Deer, turkey, small game and, by lottery permit, black bear are hunted. You need a Maryland hunting license, sold by Maryland DNR.
- Is Sunday hunting allowed in Garrett County?
- Yes, for deer, on private land and on designated public land. The designated lands are Savage River, Garrett and Potomac State Forests and the Mount Nebo and Cunningham Swamp wildlife management areas. Sunday shooting hours match the rest of the week, and DNR's hunting guide lists the open Sundays for each season.
- Do you need hunter education to hunt in Maryland?
- Yes, if you were born on or after July 1, 1977. Maryland accepts a hunter education certificate from any other state, so out-of-state hunters don't need to take a second course.
- Do hunters have to wear orange in Maryland?
- Yes, with a few exceptions, and fluorescent pink counts too. Hunters and anyone helping them wear a solid fluorescent orange or pink cap, a vest or jacket with at least 250 square inches of it front and back, or a fluorescent camouflage top that's at least half orange or pink. Some hunts, such as waterfowl, are exempt.
- Where can you go mountain biking near Deep Creek Lake?
- At Margraff Plantation in Savage River State Forest, near Accident, with almost 10 miles of purpose-built trail and an adaptive loop. Fork Run, at the north end of the lake, and Herrington Manor State Park have singletrack and easier loops, and every trail in Deep Creek Lake State Park is open to bikes. High Mountain Sports rents mountain bikes.
- Where can you go off-roading near Deep Creek Lake?
- At Wolf Den Run State Park, near Kitzmiller southeast of Oakland, and on the St. John's Rock ORV Trail in Savage River State Forest, near Finzel. Both take ATVs, side-by-sides, dirt bikes and street-registered 4x4s. Every machine needs a Maryland DNR off-road vehicle registration or MVA plates.
- Can you rent an ATV or side-by-side at Deep Creek Lake?
- Yes, on a guided tour. Western Trails, in Oakland, runs hour-long side-by-side tours, and Outpost Excursions, in Bloomington, runs guided ATV tours for first-time and experienced riders.
Where to stay
Out all day, then a quiet cabin for two.
Nightwood is a luxury cabin, thoughtfully designed for couples, on two wooded acres at the north end of the lake. Come back from the river or the trail to the hot tub beneath the deck, and a long, slow evening in. Your dog stays free.
See Nightwood