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
Camping/Getaway Rental Reservations	866-644-6727

Deer Creek Resort & Conference Center
22300 State Park Road #20 (Location)
PO Box 125  (Mailing)
Mt Sterling, OH 43143-0153

Lodge Front Desk	740-869-2020
Lodge Front Desk Fax	740-869-4059
Lodge/Cottage Reservations	877-678-3337

Park Map | Campground Map

Golf Course Information

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.

Resort Lodge 

• 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 

• 25 cottages each with two bedrooms, bath with a shower, living room with a sofa bed, complete kitchen, dining area and screened porch
• The cottages sleep up to six people
• The historic Harding Cabin offers a unique lakeside setting and sleeps 7-9. Read more about this historic lodging experience.

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.

Getaway Rentals

• 2 Camper cabins
• 3 Rent-A-Camp units consisting of a tent, dining fly, cooler, cook stove and other equipment
• Available April through October by reservation

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

• 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.

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

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.