Satellite view of David W. Hutchinson Park Boat Ramp
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David W. Hutchinson Park Boat Ramp

Also known as: Cherokee Landing · Cherokee Landing Boat Ramp
Deer Point Lake · Bay County, Florida
Last verified: July 2, 2026
This is Bay County's drinking-water reservoir, and it behaves like one: shallow, stump-strewn in the creek arms, thick with alligators, and drawn down about two and a half feet every winter (recent cycles run mid-November to early March), when the shallower ramps go skinny and the FWC drawdown ramp at the dam becomes the reliable launch. There is no boat passage past the dam — below it is saltwater North Bay.
2 lanesConcrete ramp
12 spotsTrailer parking
Daytime use onlyHours
Directions
Street View
Craft Access
Motorboat
Kayak / Canoe
Jet Ski / PWC
Large 22ft+
Site Details
Conditions change rapidly due to water levels, prop wash, and weather. Always visually inspect before backing down.
RampConcrete, 2 lanes
Water DepthYou launch onto Bear Creek, not the open lake — and watch the ramp end: a washout there has hung up trailers. Ease back, know where your wheels are, and mind it double at winter drawdown.
DockStaging dock
Trailer Parking12 spots · paved
Crowding Twelve trailer spots and a local crowd that includes swimmers and bridge-jumpers on hot weekends — the ramp lane can get casually blocked; a friendly horn tap is part of launching here.
Plan B — if this lot is full Bayhead North (~3 mi, free)
Ira Hutchinson Park (dam end, free, flush restrooms)
Fee$3 launch
HoursDaytime use only
SeasonOpen year-round
RestroomsPortable toilet (1)
Not Available Fish cleaning · Fishing pier · Pier
Scout's Notes
Ramp Quirks & Etiquette
The Other Hutchinson
Don't confuse this with Ira Hutchinson Park at the dam — this is David W. Hutchinson Park, five miles up the lake on Highway 2301, and it launches onto Bear Creek itself: the lake's only fee ramp at $3, two concrete lanes with a staging dock, and a dozen trailer spots.
Cherokee Landing, Reborn
For decades this was Cherokee Landing Fish Camp — bait shop, rental boats, pool table in the back — and the old owner used to say the property would become a park when he was gone. It did. The fish-camp soul lingers in the name locals still use, even if the tackle shop didn't survive the handover.
Watch the Ramp End
The one hard warning here: a washout at the foot of the ramp has caught trailers — back down easy, keep track of where concrete ends, and treat low winter water as a reason to use the dam-end ramps instead.
Bear Creek's Front Porch
The creek is the point: crappie stack in Bear Creek's deep holes after the spawn, catfish live in them year-round, and the cypress run between here and the open lake is as pretty as Deer Point gets. Idle it — the stumps are real.
A Busy Little Waterfront
Hot-weather weekends bring swimmers, music, and kids off the bridge — more sandbar energy than boat-ramp order. Early mornings it's all anglers; pick your hour to pick your scene.
Sources: FWC boat-ramp inventory (BY00363HQ), Bay County, Panhandle fishing-guide ramp inventory, Google Reviews (2016–2026)
About This Lake