Deer Creek State Park

We stopped by Deer Creek State Park this week to spend a little time in the water. Deer Creek is a reservoir at the top of Provo Canyon, and it is almost always busy. On any given afternoon, dozens of boaters and PWC users are zipping around the lake. It's almost like an urban water park.

There are several usable "beaches" at Deer Creek including the main Marina, Island Beach, and Rainbow Bay. We stopped at Island Beach, which was rocky, but clean. Buoys keep the boats and jetskis at wakeless speed. The reservoir is pretty low right now, so the walk to the water was pretty far. Still, our kids loved throwing rocks and wading around. All of the beaches have pavilions with picnic tables for lunch and some shade. They are hard to snag at busy times of the day.

Our boys also did the Junior Ranger program at Deer Creek State Park. According to the ranger, it is a pretty popular program, despite the fact that there is no Visitor's Center at the park.

We didn't camp at Deer Creek, but there are several campgrounds for tents or RVs (no cabins or yurts). There are places to rent water toys including jet skis, canoes, and parasailing equipment. Of course, fishing is also pretty popular.

Deer Creek is one of many state parks in Utah dedicated to water sports and activities.