No matter the season, the Deep Creek Lake area in Garrett County, Maryland offers endless recreational activities. Visitors are guaranteed to enjoy the crisp mountain air in what is known as Maryland's mountain playground while playing in the snow during the winter or cooling off by one of the lakes during the summer.
Maryland's largest lake, Deep Creek Lake is also a manmade lake. Its origins date back to the 1920s, when an electric company constructed a dam on the Youghiogheny River. The state purchased the reservoir in 2000, and the lake is now one of the area's best bets for water skiing, boating and fishing. Because it is a major tourist attraction, you will be able to find any amenity you can think of, although you might prefer to escape back to nature at Deep Creek Lake State Park, which controls a mile of the lake's shoreline.
Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone were all known to pitch their tents in Garrett County's Swallow Falls State Park, according to the county chamber of commerce. The park's centerpiece is the 53-foot Muddy Creek Falls. Ample hiking and mountain-biking trails wind their way through the park. The Youghiogheny River borders the park, feeding the many tall hemlocks that shade it. Both the Youghiogheny and Muddy Creek are whitewater rivers, so the park cautions you to be aware of your surroundings when near the water.
Hunters as well as bird watchers and wildlife lovers will delight in the bounty that nature has to offer within this 1,863-acre area. While it is best known for its ruffed grouse and woodcock hunting, hikers will enjoy the miles of maintained trails carved into land that gives rise to hardwood forests. Bird watchers can challenge themselves to identify the many migrating waterfowl that pass through the area. Mushroom hunting is also a popular activity in the area.
Although the vast majority of this state-managed area consists of hardwood forests, the area also serves to protect some of North America's oldest peat bogs. More than 18,000 years old, two red spruce bogs complete with wild cranberries and rare plants represent a unique aspect of wetlands, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.