Deep Creek Lake is a popular vacation destination in Maryland, known for its beautiful scenery, outdoor activities, family-friendly atmosphere, Wisp ski resort and, of course, the lake! If you're planning a trip to Deep Creek Lake, here are 7 of the most important things to consider when renting a house:
1. Lake Access:
If having access to the lake is important to your stay there are a few distinctions that you need to be aware of. Most of the local rental sites make this distinction, but the national sites often don’t.
Lake Front - If a home is listed as Lake Front, that typically means that the property borders the lake and there’s nothing between the home and the lake. This is typically the most desirable feature and lake front homes tend to be more expensive than other homes.
Split Lake Front - This means that a road separates the house from the lake, but that there are no other houses between that house and the water. If you’re going to go this route, you’ll save a few bucks, but you definitely want to understand how busy the road is that separates you from the lake. Some roads like Deep Creek Drive are lightly traveled and aren’t much of an impediment to lake access. Other roads like Rte 219 are highly trafficked and are a significant barrier - especially if you are bringing along young kids
Lake Access - Lake Access means what it sounds like - the home has access to the lake - but isn’t on the water. Typically these houses are part of a lakeside community and lake access is afforded by staying in the community.
Lake Area - A broad classification for homes that are around Deep Creek Lake but don’t have lake access. If you’re in one of these homes, you can still access the lake at Deep Creek State Park, which has public lake access with a beach. This is a pretty popular destination so make sure to get there early in the day.
2. Dock:
Ok, so you’ve decided you want a place that at least has lake access. Now you want to find out what the dock situation is. There are basically two types of docks - private and shared (or ‘slip’). Private dock is what it sounds like. You have the entire dock dedicated to your house. You can hang out on the dock, park a rented boat, swim off the dock, etc without anyone else having access to your dock. Shared or slip means that you have access to one of the slips if you want to rent a boat during your stay or if you just want to hang out on the dock. Typically shared docks will also have a place where you can swim, but often that’s limited to avoid humans and boats in the same space. One important thing to note - just because a place has lake access does NOT mean that it has a dock. In some places the water is just too shallow and the property is not approved for a dock (even if it is a lake front home). So make sure you check so that you’re not disappointed by your dock situation! Docks are required to be out of the water in the winter so this means that typically from November to April there are no docks in the lake. As you can imagine, it’s a process to get the docks in and out of the water, so if you’re vacationing in April/May or September/October and want a dock you should check with the rental company on whether or not the dock will be in the water.
3. Amenities.
Two of the most important amenities (besides a dock) are hot tubs and fire pits. Everyone loves a hot tub on vacation - especially one that’s both close to the house and close to the water. Going for a refreshing dip in the lake and then getting into a warm hot tub is magical - especially during the shoulder seasons of May and September/October when the temperature might be a bit cooler. Fire pits are also very popular through the spring, summer and fall (not so much in the winter when there’s three feet of snow on the ground!). Pictures are worth a thousand words here - you want to see the firepit setup. Is it close to the house or are you going to have to trek back and forth? Can you see the lake and can you watch boats go by while enjoying the fire? Other amenities worth checking out are grills (gas, charcoal or both), fireplaces (wood burning, gas or both), ski/snowboard racks, wine fridge, TV streaming devices, washer/dryer and pool/foosball tables. A handful of properties at Deep Creek also have indoor pools. These tend to be very high end and very expensive places, but a great amenity to have - especially in the winter. Some properties offer access to the community fitness center and aquatic center at Garrett County Community College (CARC Membership). If you’re someone who likes to work out on vacation or you have small kids and need something for them to do if you have a poor weather day, make sure you find a home that offers a CARC membership)
4. Location:
There are a few things to consider with location. Do you want to avoid being right on a busy road (probably)? Do you want to be near Wisp and most of the restaurants and other things to do? Or do you prefer being secluded and being one with nature? Most of the action happens along the stretch of Rte 219 that runs along the middle to northern part of the lake. A number of restaurants and bars, both grocery stores - Arrowhead Market and Shop N Save, several boat and kayak/paddleboard rental places, Deep Creek Fun Zone, Monkey Business Adventure Park and Wisp Resort are all along that stretch of Rte 219. There are two golf courses - Lodestone, which is near Wisp, and Thousand Acres Lakeside Club, which is down at the south-eastern part of the lake. Deep Creek State Park is in the middle portion of the lake across from where Rte 219 connects to the lake.
5. Type of house:
Deep Creek has gone through a number of building cycles, so there’s a range of different types of houses. Some houses are original deep creek cabins that were built 80-90 years ago (usually with some amount of upgrades) and are very rustic. Others were built more recently and reflect much more recent tastes in design and layout. Some places are very casual while others are very high end and everything in between. It’s hard to narrow this down in just a search, so pictures and reviews are crucial for determining how you’re going to feel about the place.
6. Pets:
Most rental homes in Deep Creek don’t allow for pets, so if you are trying to bring along a pet you should definitely book early!
7. Driveway:
This might seem like an odd one, but Deep Creek is in the mountains, so many of the houses have very steep driveways - even lake front homes. Not the biggest deal in the summer, but very important in the winter. This is another one that’s not exactly easy to search for, but reviews and online photos can help.
A few other additional tips about planning ahead:
The most popular time at Deep Creek is the summer and specifically the week that contains July 4th. The selection of lake front homes tends to drop dramatically about 30 days before for any summer week (mid June to Labor Day). If you wait until the last minute, you might be able to find a deal, but your selection will likely be very limited.
Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years are very popular too! Homes on the water tend to completely sell out for those holidays. It’s very serene during those times of the year and many of the homes on the water are large enough to host a large gathering of people, which makes them very popular options.
The shoulder seasons (March, April, early May, late September, October and November) offer some great deals and you’ll often get a combination of still very good weather with a lot fewer people around. Great for a last minute getaway.
Corks Away is a well-appointed 5 bedroom, 3.5 bath lake front home at Deep Creek Lake. Located on Glendaloch Lane, which is off Deep Creek Drive, it is well situated to just about everything at Deep Creek Lake. To see pictures, availability, reviews and more, click the link below to the listing at Railey Realty - we'd love to be hosts for your future Deep Creek vacation!
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