DEER CREEK STATE PARK
20635 Waterloo Road • Mt. Sterling, OH 43143
| Park Office |
(740) 869-3124 |
| Campground (seasonal) |
(740) 869-3508 |
| Golf Course |
(740) 869-3088 |
| Lake Conditions |
(740) 869-2243 |
| Lodge Front Desk |
(740) 869-2020 |
| Lodge Front Desk Fax |
(740) 869-4059 |
Located in the heart of Ohio's agricultural country, Deer Creek State Park is
central Ohio's vacation showplace. A collage of meadows and woodlands surround
the scenic reservoir. This resort park features a modern lodge, cottages,
campground, golf course, swimming beach and boating for outdoor enthusiasts.
 Lodge
The lodge at Deer Creek has 110 guest rooms, many with a panoramic view of the
lake. Lodge features include indoor and outdoor pools, sauna, whirlpool and
exercise room. A restaurant, lounge and meeting rooms provide additional
accommodations.
Cottages
Twenty-five cottages offer overnight accommodations. The cottages have two
bedrooms, bath with a shower, living room with a sofa bed, complete kitchen,
dining area and screened porch. The cottages sleep six people. The historic
Harding Cabin offers a unique lakeside setting and sleeps 7-9.
Read more
about this historic lodging experience.
Camping
The campground at Deer Creek has 227 sites. All have electricity. The campground
features showers, flush toilets and a dump station. Pets are permitted on
designated sites. Five Rent-A-Camp units consisting of a tent, dining fly,
cooler, cook stove and other equipment can be rented during the summer months by
reservation. A group camp is also available by reservation. A horsemen's camp
provides primitive overnight facilities for riders and a primitive group camp
offers an area for youth groups.
 Boating
Unlimited horsepower boating is permitted on the 1,277-acre Deer Creek
reservoir. Two launch ramps provide access to the lake. A fully equipped marina
offers fuel, boat rental and seasonal dock rentals.
Fishing and Hunting
The lake at Deer Creek is famous for its early spring saugeye fishing below the
dam. Excellent catches of catfish, largemouth bass and crappie also entice the
angler.
The lake provides excellent waterfowl hunting. Twelve hunting blinds are
issued each season on a lottery basis. Hunting is permitted in the state
wildlife area adjacent to the park for pheasant, rabbit, squirrel and deer.
Swimming
A spacious 1,700-foot swimming beach graces the shores of Deer Creek State Park.
A concession area and changing booths are special features at the beach. Boaters
may take advantage of a boat-swim area.
Picnicking
Several picnic areas are situated in scenic locations around the park.
Trails
Nine miles of hiking trails take the visitor through meadows and scattered
woodlands. Fourteen miles of bridle trails can accommodate riders with their own
horses. A fitness trail near the lodge offers an opportunity for exercise in a
wooded setting.
 Golf
A 350-acre, 18-hole public golf course near the lodge is a challenge for golfers
with its 10 ponds and 52 sand traps.
More To Do
Attractions located on the campground include a fitness center, volleyball
and basketball courts, horseshoe pits, a playground and miniature golf.
Bicycles can be rented from the camp office for a fee. There are also
volleyball and basketball courts, playgrounds, and a baseball field offered in
day-use area. The lodge offers tennis courts for lodge guest use.
Nature of the Area
 Deer Creek
State Park lies on the eastern edge of the great till plains of Ohio. These
plains receive their name from the glacial debris, or till, which is a mixture
of sand, silt and gravel that was deposited by the glaciers. As glaciers
advanced across the northern two-thirds of Ohio, most hills and valleys were
covered and filled in by the till, leaving this part of Ohio relatively flat.
Today, these rich plains in the park's region support corn, soybeans and
wheat. The first settlers to the area did not find these open fields. Except for
a few small prairie openings, the region was covered by dense woodlands. A
regrowth of the original woodlands can be found scattered along the ridge tops
and creek bottoms of the park.
Wildflowers abound in the fields and woodlands of the till plains. In spring,
common flowers are Dutchman's breeches, rue anemone, trillium, spring beauty and
bloodroot. Summer months produce thimbleweed, wild lettuce, jewelweed and daisy
fleabane. In autumn, the most abundant flowers are aster, goldenrod and chicory,
whose roots were used by settlers to make a coffee-like beverage.
The best known animals of the Deer Creek area include amphibians such as the
chorus frog, spring peeper and American toad. Reptiles include box and painted
turtles, black rat snake and eastern garter snake. Numerous mammals inhabit the
park. Most of them are small and include the red fox, raccoon, opossum,
woodchuck, skunk, rabbit, deer mouse and white-tailed deer. Deer Creek is known
for its population of ring-necked pheasant. Other birds of the area include
eastern meadowlark, song sparrow, cowbird, eastern bluebird, barn swallow and
woodcock.
History of the Area
On a long ridge that once overlooked Deer Creek and its valley, researchers
have discovered evidence of a camp of an ancient Indian tribe. The nomads who
camped here around 2,000 B.C. were hunters and gatherers and used this camp
periodically throughout the year. Since agriculture was not practiced by the
nomads, they moved on after they depleted the plant or animal food supplies in a
locale. Burial sites near the camp indicate it was inhabited over a period of
time.
In more recent years, a cottage owned by Harry M. Daugherty, the attorney
general under President Warren G. Harding, overlooked the valley. The rustic one
and one-half story cottage was built in 1918. The President was said to have
visited this cottage which now bears his name.
The completion of the dam in 1968 created the lake with the park officially
opening in 1974.
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