By: Jay Ferguson jferguson@railey.com 301-501-0420 April 23rd, 2010 Category: Community Profiles, Deep Creek Lake, Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, Wisp Ski Resort

Ski Harbor is a lakefront condo & townhouse community at Deep Creek Lake. One of the coolest features of this community is the land it sits on - a 1,200+ feet peninsula on the shores of Deep Creek Lake. You can always find a quiet spot to sit and read, picnic or just think. Lots of different amenities: indoor swimming pool, sauna, tennis court, beach volleyball, basketball court (I’ve even witnessed street hockey!), swing sets, benches, canoe & kayak racks and more. There are dock slips available, lake views from almost anywhere on the property, 2 no-wake zones (great for kayaking & fishing), and acres of grassy, level lakefront common area. You have MEGA views of Wisp Ski Resort & the Bear Claw tubing park, as well as wide body views of McHenry cove from the point of the peninsula.

There are 2-4 bedroom condo’s & townhomes available for sale or for vacation rentals. Its location near Wisp & on the water offers a ‘rental friendly’ location that is sure to impress your visitors, family & friends. You can get a 2 bedroom condo in the low $200k’s!

Another great perk is a front row seat to fireworks. The Wisp always sets off the 4th of July fireworks from the Bear Claw tubing park, and I as I mentioned, the view is AMAZING! McHenry cove fills up with hundreds of boats, all lit up at night, and it’s quite a sight to behold.

If you are in the market for a great lakefront vacation home or centrally located condo, Ski Harbor is one place that you will definitely want to explore!

Properties for Sale in Ski Harbor

Railey Realty Real Estate Blog - Ski Harbor

Ski Harbor News, Updates, Rentals

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 April 23rd, 2010 Category: Deep Creek Lake Activities, Deep Creek Lake Area Things To Do, Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, Garrett County News, News, Wisp Real Estate, Wisp Ski Resort

The Wisp Ski Resort at Deep Creek Lake recently announced a new attraction. Construction of a Zip-line ride near the Bear Claw Tubing Park is expected to begin shortly and should be open to the public in the summer of 2010. The new attraction is going to be named the Flying Squirrel Canopy Tour.  A Zip-line is basically a pulley on a cable that allows a rider to traverse down an incline using gravity while holding on to a pulley. The riders are attached to the pulley and cable with a safety harness. The new Zip-line, which is very popular in other resort areas, will add to the area’s many other diverse activities and continue to make Wisp a popular year round destination.

Hale Irwin Lodestone Golf Course & Wisp Real Estate Update

All 18 holes are now complete. The front 9 opened last fall to play and will re-open again May 1^st of this year. The back 9 holes are scheduled to open in June 2010.  Reviews from golfers who have played the course say its “spectacular”.  The scenery is incredible as some holes feature breathtaking views of Deep Creek Lake. A temporary clubhouse will be set up this summer and Hale Irwin himself will be here on July 10^th for a reception and to play the course. Lodestone is also offering a Trial Use Membership for 2010 (pdf).

All roads are now complete in the Greenbrier subdivisions at Lodestone.  Construction of two new residential houses fronting the golf course is expected to begin shortly.

Including the new golf course home sites, DC Development has developed 540 building lots atop Wisp Mountain since 1994. There is a potential for a total of 2,301 home sites atop Wisp.

Other recent Wisp news and updates;

• The 2009/2010 ski season was very good. The Deep Creek Lake and Garrett County area received record amounts of natural snow. The Wisp reported that skier visits were up about 2% over of the previous winter season. The ski area closed for the season on April 4^th of this year.
• The Mountain Coaster continues to be very popular with tourists and visitors.
• The Wisp plans to continue its annual Easter Sunrise Service. Visitors can ride the chair lifts to the top of the mountain for free and watch the sunrise as Easter services are conducted.

Please contact us if you would like to explore any real estate opportunities at Wisp and the new Lodestone Golf Course - including home sites, building lots, townhomes, or existing houses for sale.

Click Here for all Railey Realty listed Home Sites, Building Lots, Real Estate, and Houses for Sale at Wisp Ski Resort.

(Photo courtesy of D. A. Horchner/Design Workshop)

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 April 15th, 2010 Category: Garrett County News, News

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed into legislation yesterday a new law that will require all children 13 years of age and under to wear lifejackets (personal flotation devices) while boating on state waterways - including Deep Creek Lake. The previous regulation only required children 7 years of age and under to wear lifejackets while on a boat that is underway. This new age requirement for PFDs goes into effect immediately.

Going into effect later this year (October 1^st) is new legislation that impacts the requirements of children operating boats on Deep Creek Lake and all other state waterways who are 16 years of age and under. The new law will require children under the age of 16 to possess a certificate of boating safety education before they can operate a boat AND (1) either be supervised by someone 18 years or older who is also aboard the boat, or (2) be supervised by someone 16 years or older with a boating safety certificate who is aboard the boat. Children between the ages of 12 and 16 years will no longer be able to operate a boat by themselves with just a boating safety certificate - the new law essentially requires supervision by someone older who must be aboard the boat while the younger person is driving.

While boating accidents are very, very rare on Deep Creek Lake, these new laws are aimed to improve overall safety and to get Maryland more in line with other states and federal laws.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 April 5th, 2010 Category: Deep Creek Lake Buyer Info, Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, News

Last fall the Deep Creek Lake Management office sent a letter to all dock permit holders outlining proposed changes concerning the way PWCs (personal watercrafts) will be docked/stored at lakefront sites. These changes to the regulations will essentially get rid of all current PWC racks/stands on the shoreline. The public comment period ended a few months ago and the proposed changes to the regulations are expected to be approved by the State of Maryland in the very near future.

As usual, and until notified otherwise, all Type A dock permit holders will be allowed to dock two (2) power vessels and one (1) non-power vessel (most likely a sailboat) at their dock.  If you posses a Special Permit you WILL be allowed to place a PWC that weighs LESS than 500 pounds on a shoreline rack/stand for the meantime - but you will also receive a letter notifying you of forthcoming changes.  Under current regulations, any PWC that weighs MORE than 500 pounds is NOT permitted on a shoreline rack/stand. Nearly all PWCs manufactured in the last 10 years weigh more than 500 pounds. Most lakefront homeowners currently store their 500 (+) plus pound PWCs on manufactured stands and racks on the shoreline and not tied up to their boat dock.

Early this summer, DNR is expected to take applications from dock permit holders that will allow them to have 1 PWC permitted at their boat dock.  (PWCs are permitted at docks now but since they are more than 500 pounds they are considered a power vessel by definition). If approved, the new permit will then be valid for two (2) power vessels, one (1) PWC, and one (1) non-power vessel. This application will cost an additional $100 on top of the normal $200 paid in the spring. DNR expects to issue these new buffer strip permits for one (1) additional PWC at docks starting sometime later this summer.

It appears that all Type A permits will now have the ability to be granted three (3) power vessels and one (1) non-power vessel at their lakefront home - however, one of the three power vessels will have to be a PWC. This new regulation will benefit the lakefront homeowners who only have 1 power boat at their dock now and 2 PWCs on shoreline stands/racks - or the homeowners who have 2 boats now at their dock and 1 PWC on a stand. This new regulation will basically allow all 3 to be tied up their dock.

However, this new regulation appears to hurt the lakefront homeowner who already has 2 power boats at their dock now -for example, a Cobalt and a pontoon boat - and who also has 2 PWCs stored on shoreline stands/racks. This new regulation is going to force these homeowners to get rid of one of their PWCs - or get rid of one of their power boats. This situation of 2 boats and 2 PWCs is very common around Deep Creek Lake.

Homeowners in lake access communities with common docks may also suffer a bit with these new regulations. For common docks, DNR is going to permit 3 PWCs per every 10 approved boat slips. Therefore, the homeowner who has a power boat in one of the slips in the common dock and a PWC on a shoreline stand may be forced to get rid of either the boat or PWC if there are numerous PWCs in that particular community.

The intent of this change is to get rid of all PWC racks/stands on the shoreline - as DNR viewed these stands as an abuse of the number of power vessels docked/stored at these homeowner sites.