Deep Creek Lake State Park — Attraction in Oakland

We go camping two or three times a year and are always looking to see other areas of the state, we generally go to state park campgrounds. Deep Creek lake was about a three hour drive from home, further than we have travelled in the past for a two night camping trip, but it was an experiment.... will it be too far to travel to set up and break down camp for a two night trip? We did well and it opens up the radius of our camping options.

The campground is huge. The sites are spread out for the most part. We chose site 64, it was on the outside of the loops, in between both loops. We had a lot of privacy. There was a trail that ran along the outside of the campground, but we literally saw five people the whole time. It wasn't an issue at all. The site was clean and had a bear box, of which we used.

The campground was not full, but we were there prior to Memorial Day, and for what we enjoy, this was perfect. It got chilly at night, but we had jackets, so we were fine - and prepared. It did rain, a lot, on Saturday afternoon and through to about 8pm. We didn't let it put a damper on our trip (pun, get it?) though.

The Deep Creek Lake area is pretty touristy, which could be good or bad. Again, it was before memorial day, so it was quite empty. The other good thing is that there are restaurants in the area, and we went out to dinner on Saturday night, which was a bonus because it was raining. We went to Brenda's Pizzeria. Hot and cheesy pizza, no complaints here.

The ONE complaint that we had was that there were only two bathhouses. It was a huge campground and it was quite a walk to the bathroom. We've never had that experience, so it took some thought regarding middle of the night trips to the bathroom.

The bathroom was clean and the showers had HOT water! I usually do not take a shower when we are camping, especially when the weather is cool, but I was pretty cold and wet from the rain, so we showered before dinner on Saturday and it was so refreshing.

On the whole, this was a great park with plenty of amenities. The hiking trails are picturesque and well marked. You'll have a nice time if you choose Deep Creek Lake. We didn't partake in any lake activities because it was cold and just not on our agenda, but if that's your thing, you will have plenty of...

Family stayed at a minicabin for a few days and it was the perfect getaway. There's a shortcut to the trails just on the other side of the cabin parking spaces, which was great. Minicabins are NOT 'glamping'--it's literally a place to sleep and nothing else--but we knew that going in and were totally fine with it. Both minicabins (and the nearby yurt) have a picnic table and fire ring right next to them. There's also a large, relatively flat grassy area between the three, which was great for playing lawn games, since we are partial to Kubb. The stars were incredible and we were fortunate enough to see both the Milky Way and the tail end of the Perseids.

Aviary, as always, is a favorite attraction. The raptors there are majestic, intimidating, and beautiful. Even as older teenagers my kids don't want to pass up going there first, although they won't admit it. Kayak rentals were not cheap but worth the fun. We ended up with two singles and two doubles between the six of us; my teenagers enjoyed the relaxation and the competition (which started out friendly but ended up not so much...) The lake is beautiful and the swimming areas, while small, are comfortable and pleasant. Not overwhelming, and easy to keep an eye on everyone. Plenty of picnic tables for the non-water-lovers to sit and play cards while others swam.

The only thing I didn't like, and I debated this but decided it wasn't worth taking off a star for, was that the minicabins and yurt were closer together than I expected them to be. Unlike the numbered campsites where you know you're going to be pretty much right next to someone else, but there are trees and/or brush in between, the grassy flat lawn meant that there was nothing to separate the three buildings. There wasn't anything specifically wrong with it, but when I go camping I'm not used to having people right there. I prefer a little more of a barrier, even if it is only some brush and a...

Great State Park for camping. Stayed on site 13 with a 30ft trailer , arriving on a Monday evening til Sunday late October. The grounds at the campground, the beach area were all very well maintained. Monday thru Friday earlier afternoon was perfect camping. Gated camping area with code, not a lot of campers during the week, but come Friday evening, I felt HORRIBLE for the rangers on duty. Parents, parent your kids and teach them to be respectful! We used the bathhouse all week and not one reason to complain, not even a bug. But it took less than 2 hrs for someone's to trash the men's bathroom. They literally peed all over the floor from the urinals to the sinks, the stalls to the showers and the back to the door. Foot prints on the toilet seats...ugh. My hubby doesn't usually complain about anything but coming out of there, he was ticked. We did call the ranger on duty and she said she'd be up to take care of it. :( We did see MANY checkins by the rangers the rest of the weekend. Sad it takes just one thing to sicken a visit. Fortunately for us, we had a bathroom in our camper & never stepped foot in there again. That said, campers were very nice, dogs were leashed and picked up after. Shared a pic of the site, definitely not my favorite backing for our size trailer and we went out the one way in to leave...sorry! but plenty big enough otherwise. There was a fresh water spout 50ft or so away so we could've filled on site but we stopped...