Deer Creek State Park

Camping

• 227 electric sites
• The campground features showers, flush toilets and a dump station.
• Pets are permitted on designated sites.
• 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
• Check for water quality advisories

Picnicking

• 10 picnic areas are situated in scenic locations around the park.
• 3 picnic shelters are available on a first come-first serve basis

Trails

• Meadow Trail- Hiking- 1 Mile, Moderate
• Rolling Hills Trail- Hiking- 2.5 Miles, Moderate
• Marsh Walk Trail- Hiking- 1 Mile, Moderate
• Ridge Trail- Hiking- 1.5 Miles, Moderate
• Adena Ridge Trail- Hiking- .75 Miles, Easy
• Van Horn Trail- Hiking- 2 Miles, Easy-Moderate
• Waterloo Trail- Hiking- .25 Miles, Easy
• Mountain Biking Trail- Mtn Biking- 1 Mile, Easy
• Snowmobile Trail- Snowmobile/Bridle/Hiking- 18 miles, Moderate

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
• Get more information about the course

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.

Area Attractions

• East of Deer Creek near Circleville is A.W. Marion State Park which offers fishing, camping and picnicking
• Stage's Pond, a state nature preserve, is located five miles north of Circleville. This 178-acre glacial, kettle lake is a waterfowl refuge and a prime observation area for birdlife
• Deer Creek Wildlife Area which is adjacent to the park is operated by the ODNR Division of Wildlife and managed for upland game
• In nearby Chillicothe, visitors can witness the living drama of Tecumseh at the Sugarloaf Mountain Amphitheatre
• Adena State Memorial, the restored home of Thomas Worthington is one of The Ohio Historical Society's premier sites. It includes Worthington's newly-restored 1807 mansion and a 13,000 square foot Museum/Visitor Center
• For additional information on area attractions, visit the Pickaway County Visitors Bureau.

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.