Deer Creek State Park; the DO Park.

After visiting Mohican State Park Lodge we were invited to visit and blog about another of Ohio’s State Parks; Deer Creek State Park.  This park is my favorite get out and DO park so far!

We spent three days there.  Three days on the lake kayaking, wake boarding, falling into the lake, laughing so hard you’re afraid you’re going to pee your pants and just having the time of our lives.

Each morning we were up and out on the lake by 5 am.  Rhea and I would paddle out on midnight colored waters.  The waves would move us as we just stopped and listened to the quiet as the sun began to brighten the sky to deep dark violets and blue.

We talked about the little things and big things in life.  What she thinks about this or that and what she’s wanting to do, her thoughts over current issues and how she’s had so much fun with her daddy, Tyler, Sunshine and me.  She talked about how excited she has been doing all these things together with her family.  The same thing was repeated at night.

The food was oh my gosh delicious.  They too buy local meats; pork, beef and chicken.  They also buy locally grown veggies just like Mohican State Park does.  I think with all the swimming and lake fun the kids were using more calories than they normally did so at

Deer Creek they were cleaning their plates.  Matter of fact we all were. Espresso was still a no go but they DID have coffee in the gift shop courtesy of the lady in green.  She was beautiful to see but I did have to wait for it to open and they’re not open at 4 in the morning.  Coffee on the lake as the sun comes up would be a glorious experience.  So…bring your own coffee.

Our room was well loved.  The beds were comfy, the room was clean and if we wanted to sit on the balcony and look at the lake we could have done that too.  The 5 of us shared a room with double beds and a set of bunk beds.  It was a really nice arrangement especially since 2 could sleep in each of the beds and 2 kiddos slept on the bunk beds.

It was tight in the bathroom.  Trying to shower and get ready in time for breakfast after swimming or paddling out on the lake meant we were sharing a sink and shower.  So we did some rearranging.  The girls went in together, showered and brushed teeth and then the boys showered and brushed their teeth.  We figured out that the boys and Sunshine took their clothes into the bathroom with them that meant Rhea and I could dress in the room then brush our hair and braid it back.

Deer Creek is also working toward reducing their carbon footprint.  They, like Mohican, use refillable bottles so the plastic isn’t contributing to the landfills.  They also only use paper straws!  AND!  They actually compost!!  I KNOW!!  I wanted to check that all out because … “Respect the Compost.” is something I say to my friends all the time when I can’t find their compost bucket.

All in all we had an absolute blast.  And, while I loved Mohican State Park, Deer Creek became my favorite for our family.  With it’s get out, do, experience, paddle out, geocache, bike, camp, swim, kayak, wake board, fish and eat your meal while looking out over the lake you’re going to find the kid’s talking to you without phones or tv.  The best feel good moments of the summer has happened there and I know you’ll experience the same.

It’s safe to say Deer Creek allows families to connect with one another while actively living life.  We’ll be back.