winter activities Deep Creek Lake - Deep Creek Lake Blog

Festival of Trees-Deep Creek Lake

Taylor-Made Real Estate Betsy Spiker Holcomb-301-616-5022

Mark your calendars!

November 25 & 26, 2016

Garrett County Fairgrounds (Hwy 219)

Garrett Highway in McHenry, MD 21541

Hours: 9a.m.- 6p.m. – FREE PARKING!

Admission just $5 per person.

LIVE AUCTION on SATURDAY at 6p.m. of

designer-decorated exhibits & special items

FREE local tree delivery

SCHEDULE OF ATTRACTIONS

Start the family fun with

Breakfast w/ Santa with ELF Bracelet

$10/person

Friday & Saturday

9a.m. & 10a.m. seating

Click here for details

Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen

Friday 9a.m. – 6p.m.

Saturday 9a.m. – 4p.m.

Foods and drinks, low prices

Vendors

Friday 9a.m. – 6p.m.

Saturday 9a.m. – 4p.m.

Creative, special gifts for everyone

Make Your Own Sundae $3

Noon-3p.m. Friday

1p.m. while it lasts on Saturday

Choose the ice cream and toppings you want!

With homemade ice cream by locally famous Lakeside Creamery

(near Mrs. Claus’s Kitchen)

Silent Auction Tables click for details

Friday 9a.m. – 5p.m.

Saturday 9a.m. – 4p.m.

(winners will be called Saturday)

Grand Finale LIVE AUCTION begins Saturday 6p.m.

5:00 p.m. cash bar open to public

5:30 p.m. complimentary food with bid number only

Click here for details

Frosty’s Funland for the kids!

Friday and Saturday

Bring your camera!

Santa’s Bakery – FREE! Decorate your own cookie!

Craft Tables – FREE! Cut, paste, decorate!

Face-Painting – FREE!

Elfenheim Mall! – Where kids can buy gifts for family and friends for only $1 per item! SuGO Robotics

Friday and Saturday

10a.m. – 1p.m.

SuGO Robotics interactive demonstration (Near Mrs. Claus Kitchen)

Saturday at 4pm, admission is free

We are setting up for the live auction – vendors are leaving and the kids’ activities are no longer available. Santa and friends are no longer on premises.

Visitors may enjoy a stroll through the decorated holiday exhibits and see what won prize ribbons and enjoy the on-stage musical performance.

5 pm Cash Bar open while bidders sign in for the live auction.

5:30 pm Buffet for BIDDERS ONLY, with special card and their bid number

6 pm PROMPTLY begins the Grand Finale LIVE AUCTION

Top Ten things to do at the Garrett County Fair

Top Ten things to do at the Garrett County Fair

1. Stock and Hot Stock Tractor Pull– Enjoy locals challenging each other with torque and horsepower in this classic American event. Video here

2. Demolition Derby- This is a favorite event for me and the family. Does it get any better than watching cars smash into each other until they cannot run anymore? Last car standing! Video here.

3. Cow Patty Bingo- Imagine if you would, a large bingo board drawn out in an arena with labeled squares. Then you let people bet on & choose specific squares. Now for fun, let’s let a bunch of cows mosey on this real time bingo board and let their droppings decide a winner by the location its dropped. How can you dislike this old time tradition?

4. Food- Enjoy special fair food here at Deep Creek Lake. Pit beef, Rotary french fries and vinegar, Lions Club chicken dinner, taco salad, funnel cakes, turkey legs, Amish milkshake, Hotdogs, cheese burgers, homemade lemonade, pizza, corndogs and more.

5. Mud Bog- There are many different classes of mud stomping hotrods! This event screams excitement! Lineup of mega horsepower at a starting line with hundreds of feet of extra sloppy mud to drive through. The sounds of thunder coming out of these machines is exhilarating.

6. Mechanical Bull Riding- What is there to say… You had a weird moment in life when you thought you wanted to be John Travolta in Urban Cowboy. Here’s your chance. Put your boots, hat and chaps on and give it a whirl.

7. 4-H & FFA Livestock Sale- This cattle and pig auction is special for a lot of reasons. Basically the whole process is that young future farmers raise and take care of a grain fed cow without the use of steroids, hormones and chemicals. The auction helps these young boys and girls raise money to continue learning in the farm industry. The product from these animals is absolutely delicious and most local’s split a steer to put in the freezer to enjoy for the following year.

Music-Each year they bring in very entertaining music with a country to bluegrass flair. They always provide a toe-tapping backdrop to the busy and vibrant fair.

9. Craft Barns– The craft barns have an amazing assortment of arts and crafts done by local artisans. You may see creative wood working items, quilting’s and photography. They also have fresh baked goods, jellies, cheeses and cookies. There is also a blue ribbon styled award for the best and largest produce. I highly recommend taking a few laps through these interesting buildings.

10. Carnival Rides-Bring the kids and have a blast on the traditional rides that we all grew up loving. The ferris wheel, the round-up, the scrambler, the carousel and funhouse come to mind. We all love to push the limits of excitement on squeaky classics.

Taylor-Made Real Estate Betsy Spiker Holcomb-301-616-5022

The 2013 Deep Creek Dunk Review

The 2013 Deep Creek Dunk Review. The 2013 Deep Creek Dunk was a HUGE SUCCESS raising $140,706 for the Special Olympics! Warmish temps were on tap for the 2013 Deep Creek Dunk as dunkers still had frigid waters to conquer. The costumes were a little more scarce then in recent years, but there were plenty of people dressed up to put smiles on the spectators faces. The crowd was overflowing as usual with a huge presence of out-of-towners and some local folks. As always, the vibe was positive and the people were happy. I set up right where the people entering and exiting the water and got some great shots of the excitement. All in all a fantastic experience that I anticipate ever year! Don’t miss it next year!!!

Greetings from Deep Creek Lake- Winter Update

Greetings from Deep Creek Lake,

Wisp Resort is fighting the good fight, bobbing and weaving around the weather in hopes of punching out enough snow to get the resort open. They have been making snow for the last few days, shutting down snow making efforts today around 11am when the temperatures and humidity got too high. The plan was to be open by Friday, but with a warm up in the forecast next week that could all change. The cold temperatures are a necessity for making light champagne powder, but humidity also plays a valuable role in the process. If there is too much humidity, it makes a very heavy/wet/dense snow that is not great for skiing and also clogs the snowmaking machines.

If you’re looking to visit the area and rent one of our many fabulous vacation pads, visit the Facebook site below for a belated Cyber Monday booking special. Since we are just now notifying you of the special, our rental manager Shelia McCracken has agreed to honor the $100 discount if you book a home by the end of business on Thursday, November 29^th with code “belated”. Or, rather than the code, you can tell them that the Spiker Team notified you of the special. https://www.facebook.com/DeepCreekResort

Now is the time to get your tickets to Dutch’s New Year’s Eve Celebration. A portion of the proceeds will benefit HART for Animals Adoption Center Fund. Last year this was a sold out event. Bobby Nicholas provides excellent entertainment and the food is always exquisite.

Real estate sales in the Deep Creek Lake area are still faring well this time of year. Below is a link to some of the recent properties to go under contract in the last 30 days. If you’d like for us to perform a new search for listings that meet your criteria just give us a ring. Or, if you’d like to be setup on our auto email service which sends you new listings from the MLS that meet your parameters just as soon as they come on the market we would also be happy to do that, so long as we know your list of wants. http://mrislistings.mris.com/DE.asp?ID=49750835480

The Spiker Team’s featured listing of the week is a 117’ waterfront home site in the private community of North Shore West at Thousand Acres. Gradually sloping topography makes it ideal for a walk-out lower level and the Type A dock permit allows you to have 2 power boats and 1 non-power boat at your very own private dock. Price recently reduced as an end-of-year incentive. http://mrislistings.mris.com/DE.asp?ID=49750682190

Reflecting On The Winter Deep Creek Lake

Betsy Spiker Holcomb Deep Creek Lakes Favorite Realtor

Today, I reflect on a wonderful winter that I’ve had here at Deep Creek Lake and all the wonderful adventures that came my way. I finally put down my old-school 10-year old parallel skis and stepped into a set of modern shape skis and had a go on perfect powder at Wisp Resort. I can’t believe that I went this long without experiencing the amazing engineering and control that this has brought to my skiing. As always, Devils Drop is my go-to slope when I want to carve through the trees and experience that “out west” feeling that Wisp can give you in certain areas of the mountain.

I have also had a lot of “first time” experiences this winter which has me buzzing more than my norm with excitement over other winter activities. Since I was a very young girl, I have always loved ice skating and thankfully I had the opportunity to put the skates on again at Wisp’s Ice Rink this winter. I felt exhilarated gliding across the ice with a bonfire roaring along the outside of the ice rink and dozens of people sharing the experience.

Make no mistake about it; my absolute new favorite sport is snowmobiling! For years I have heard from my local friends how they routinely drive their “sleds” across the lake; the safety net in my mind always spoke to me when I would hear this wondering “if these folks were a little short of common sense?!” The old question, “Why would you jump out of a perfectly good plane?” comes to mind as I contemplate driving over frozen Deep Creek Lake waters. I mean, there are plenty of trails around the county on perfectly solid ground that would serve as a safer outlet for me and this sport. The fact is that the lake is impeccably safe after it gets 6+ inches of ice buildup and it’s strong as solid ground when it gets 15+ inches, as it was when I when crossed it for the first time. I’ll never forget the rush of just casting aside my fears and hitting the throttle wide open launching straight across the center of the lake. The change in perspective in viewing the lake in the winter from the middle looking inward while racing at 100mph is something you have to experience to understand. It’s cool because you can cover 60-70 miles around the lake in a very small amount of time and the sights you see are some that many life-long residents have never and will never see. I urge you to put it on your list of things to experience here in Garrett County.

I feel fortunate every morning I wake up and relish every experience that is available throughout all the wonderful seasons we are blessed with here.

Diving Deep Creek Lake in the Winter

Diving Deep Creek Lake in the Winter

Diving Deep Creek Lake in the Winter. Deep Creek Lake has it all, as I have mentioned in numerous blogs in the past. And, as I have said before, you can’t make this stuff up! Today I was coming home from an appointment on State Park Road and I happened to notice a group of people on the ice outside the Discovery Center near the Deep Creek Lake State Park. I am a fairly curious guy so I drove over to check it out and found out that there were a group of people diving in the Lake. You may find that a little odd considering the 18 or so inches of ice on the lake at the moment. I was invited out on the ice to get a closer look at the action and was led to triangular hole that was previously cut out and that had scuba gear all around it. Ten or so locals and out-of-towners were preparing to get suited up and do a dark and ominous dive under the ice. It may seem dark and spooky but the fact of the matter is that these divers were beaming with excitement. Two divers attached to one rope dive as another person would keep tension on the rope and feed it to them as they plummeted 40’ deep in the deepest part of the channel. All of this is being supervised by a master diver instructor. I have surfed in ocean temperatures a hair warmer than the lake, but could not imagine the sensations that these divers experience in freezing waters, clouded visibility, and under a layer of ice and snow. Once submerged in the depths of ice water, the only directional lifeline to the small exit-hole in the ice is a rope clasped to their scuba harness about 150’ in length. Talk about living on the edge! I definitely have all intentions of trying the sport of diving sometime in the future but I think I will leave the extreme diving to the experts.

Winter Fest 2011-Deep Creek Lake

Winter Fest 2011 Deep Creek Lake

Winter Fest will be held again this year in Oakland, Maryland on February 18-20 and will kick off Friday with the annual Progressive Dinner. Diners will be treated to sleigh rides skipping from one restaurant to another ending up at the Oakland Historical Museum. Temperatures are forecasted to be in the mid 50’s until Saturday where they will drop in the 30’s and begin to feel like winter again.

During the weekend, Bill Sandusky form Frozen Assets Ice Carving Company will returning to wow you with his amazing carving skills. Kids will be treated to a personalized block of ice with their names carved in it. Ice sculptures will be lit at night and be on display the entire week until they melt.

Are you a scratch bowler? Try your hand at bowling frozen cantaloupes down an ice ally knocking down traditional bowling pins. Now that’s something you don’t do everyday! Horse-drawn sleigh rides will be available to the public throughout the event. The Oakland Trail will be open during the day and well-lit at nigh for cross country skiers and snowshoe’ers. Don’t forget to drop into Marvin’s to vote on the Prince and Princess “Snowflake Toddler”. Get your creative juices flowing and bring your props to enter the snowman making contest. Prizes will be awarded to the master snowman artist. As you enjoy the lighted snow sculptures dispersed around town don’t forget to gather around the huge bonfire and cook up a few smores.

The highlight for me will be the snowmobile races on Saturday at The Armory. Bring your hotrod and saddle up on the race track to see if you have what it takes to get the checkered flag. Winter Fest is destined to be another spectacular event around the Deep Creek Lake area for your family and friends so don’t miss it!

Drag Racing Snowmobiles-Deep Creek Lake

Drag Racing Snowmobiles Deep Creek Lake

I have been seduced by the mountain life and loving it!!! Bucket list…Snowmobile drag racing…CHECK! I can’t reiterate how much I enjoy life here in Deep Creek Lake after the work bell rings! I am a self-professed surfing and beach junkie and wondered if I could ever be disconnected from the ocean life that has always been my roots and co-exist with the mountain lifestyle. The answer easily screams YES!!

Yesterday I participated in snowmobile drag races, an event that was put on by The Snowdrifters Club. Temperatures ranged from cold to freezing with stiff 20-25 mph West winds bringing horizontal snow and walloping wind chills. Sign up’s started at 8’ish and went on until 10am. The event kicked in with the classic old snowmobiles leading the charge. Next came everyone’s favorite class which was the Kitty Kat class. Little youngsters were getting their feet wet in a sport that surely will be engrained in their hearts forever. The smiles of these wonderful children and the cheers from the supportive spectators really kicked this ice cold event off with warm feelings by all. The rest of the day rotated classes ranging from 400 cc’s to 1100 cc’s and were separated by classes – Stock, Super Sock, and Pro Mod. The rush of sitting at the starting line awaiting the stage light to go green can only be experienced; words do not describe these types of emotions. As the light goes green and you hammer the throttle, you explode off the starting line like a rocket ship and the peripheral vision blurs as your focus becomes the finish line. Sure, these sleds hit speeds of 100- 120mph on the lake but you only have 500’ to reach your top speed when drag racing. Factors influencing speed are where you take off and the snow conditions beneath your sled, how you distribute your weight on the sled, the line you choose, visibility, and most importantly how quickly you get into the throttle as the light turns green. Unbelievably exciting event!!

We have one more drag race coming up next weekend for those of you that missed it this year. Check out Deep Creek Home this week for more details.

Snow Tubing at Deep Creek Lake

No other Deep Creek Lake activity screams family fun like Snow Tubing at Wisp Resort. Take a little time away from skiing or snowboarding and head down to Wisp Outdoors Adventure Park and get the family signed up for a fun afternoon of snow tubing. This takes very little effort, other than bringing your enthusiasm with you, and a smile on your face. Just grab a tube (the firmer, the faster) and head up the magic carpet to the top of the park. Stop and look around at the top because you get an amazing view of McHenry Cove from that vantage point. Don’t be intimidated in any way shape or form. Plant your bottom in a tube and get ready to slide and spin your way up and down the dump-dee-dumps to the bottom. Try it on your belly on your next run if you want to mix up the excitement. Don’t put it off another minute on your next visit to Deep Creek Lake. Watch the kids’ smiles, on both young and adult, at the end of every run and see how they scurry with excitement to their next turn down the mountain.

Snowmobiling Deep Creek Lake At Night

Jim Morrison once sang; “Let’s swim to the moon, let’s climb through the tide, penetrate the evening that the city sleeps to hide.” Penetrate sleepy Deep Creek Lake evenings by snowmobile and be catapulted into enchanted nightscapes dominated by moonlight, feather-like snowflakes, and a carpet base of snow powder on top of an icy blue lake. Look through kinda spiritual glasses of Deep Creek Lake…from the center of the lake be captivated by surreal mountain silhouettes framing up mystical cloud formations highlighting a brilliant moon. I had the experience of shredding a drive belt on Saturday night to open my eyes to the brilliant silence that the night brings to the lake. My wife Betsy took off on a 30-minute trip to get me a replacement belt and as the roar of her sled faded into the darkness I was left in a tranquil state of peace and quiet, something I’ve never experienced in the winters on the lake. I instantly forgot that the Steelers/Ravens were starting the first quarter of a playoff brawl until cheers from rental houses across the lake echoed by me in a calm cool breeze and then in an instant subsided again to calm. The glow of the purple gray skies slowly eased to darkness giving me a gorgeous hazy wintertime sunset and the awakening low buzz of my wife’s sled chugging toward me breaking the still half-hour trance. I never get tired of discovering the many, many different facets of the lake that I discover through my searches or by fate. Come experience it for yourself on your next visit to Deep Creek Lake.

Mark your calendars!

November 25 & 26, 2016

Garrett County Fairgrounds (Hwy 219)

Garrett Highway in McHenry, MD 21541

Hours: 9a.m.- 6p.m. – FREE PARKING!

Admission just $5 per person.

LIVE AUCTION on SATURDAY at 6p.m. of

designer-decorated exhibits & special items

FREE local tree delivery

SCHEDULE OF ATTRACTIONS

Start the family fun with

Breakfast w/ Santa with ELF Bracelet

$10/person

Friday & Saturday

9a.m. & 10a.m. seating

Click here for details

Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen

Friday 9a.m. – 6p.m.

Saturday 9a.m. – 4p.m.

Foods and drinks, low prices

Vendors

Friday 9a.m. – 6p.m.

Saturday 9a.m. – 4p.m.

Creative, special gifts for everyone

Make Your Own Sundae $3

Noon-3p.m. Friday

1p.m. while it lasts on Saturday

Choose the ice cream and toppings you want!

With homemade ice cream by locally famous Lakeside Creamery

(near Mrs. Claus’s Kitchen)

Silent Auction Tables click for details

Friday 9a.m. – 5p.m.

Saturday 9a.m. – 4p.m.

(winners will be called Saturday)

Grand Finale LIVE AUCTION begins Saturday 6p.m.

5:00 p.m. cash bar open to public

5:30 p.m. complimentary food with bid number only

Click here for details

Frosty’s Funland for the kids!

Friday and Saturday

Bring your camera!

Santa’s Bakery – FREE! Decorate your own cookie!

Craft Tables – FREE! Cut, paste, decorate!

Face-Painting – FREE!

Elfenheim Mall! – Where kids can buy gifts for family and friends for only $1 per item! SuGO Robotics

Friday and Saturday

10a.m. – 1p.m.

SuGO Robotics interactive demonstration (Near Mrs. Claus Kitchen)

My Location

Deep Creek Media

Stay Connected