I am reflecting on an experience over the holiday season that I thought I would share with you.

So it’s Christmas Day 2015 and I decided to go Paddleboarding on Deep Creek Lake.  The mild weather had mostly everyone happy except for the winter sports enthusiasts. As the sunrise warms the mountain skyline, I notice the suns reflection cast over a glassy mirror lake that seems incredibly inviting. The warm week prior to Christmas morning shows no sign of letting up and the calm lake always triggers my mind towards the spiritual solace of a morning paddleboard session. I have an instant conflict in my mind because after all, its wintertime! The air temps seem reasonable however I wonder how cold the lake has become with the fluctuating fall weather.  I finish my coffee and decide to test the waters… I certainly have to be the first one ever in the history of Deep Creek lake to ever paddleboard on Christmas Day and I’d be a liar if I didn’t mention that this fuels my excitement!

I get down to the lake and I’m happy to see that the wind is still non-existent. I have tried to explain to people the spiritual feeling you get as you slowly slice through virgin lake glass. Ahead of you is a perfect reflection of the mountains and trees reflecting off the water and behind you are fan layers of a trace wake calmly sent toward the shoreline. The only sound you hear early in the morning is your paddle dipping slowly through the water along with an occasional fish snapping the top of the water and birds far off in the distant. Christmas morning did not disappoint! I did a couple mile spin up and around some beautiful shorelines and didn’t see a soul on the lake throughout my journey.

As we roll into Martin Luther King Weekend the cold weather and snow are filling in and we forget quickly about the warm fall and winter season that is behind us.  Take every opportunity that you have to enjoy the lake and surrounding areas which have so much to offer. In any conditions there is a diamond in the rough experience to be had here at Deep Creek Lake.