In the early 1920's the begininngs of Deep Creek Lake as we know it had begun. By 1929 we had a full lake 13 miles long with 69 miles of shoreline, and watershed of approx. 149,000 acres. As Marylands largest "man-made lake" , Deep Creek Lake is 3900 acres. Average depth of the lake is 25' with a maximum depth of 75' near the breast of the dam.

Originally constructed to power a small hydroelectric plant, Deep Creek has grown into one Marylands favorite vacation spots all year round. Drawing tourism from Pittsburgh, Washington DC, Baltimore, West Virginia and Virginia, tourism has become Garrett County's bread and butter. Although the lake is still used to generate electricity, the recreational connection to the lake is probably the biggest business of all. From boating, fishing, water skiing, skiing, ATV riding, ice fishing, snow mobiling, wakeboarding, swimming, picnic areas, and camping Deep Creek certainly draws a variety of tourists year round and is well appreciated by Garrett County's locals.