Satellite view of Ira Hutchinson Park Boat Ramp
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Ira Hutchinson Park Boat Ramp

Also known as: Ira A. Hutchison Park Boat Ramp · Hutchinson Park (dam end)
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
20 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
DockFixed and floating docks
Trailer Parking20 spots · paved
Vehicle-Only20 spots
Crowding The biggest trailer lot on the lake — 20 marked lanes — and the dam-end location keeps it the default for serious fishing traffic. Spring shellcracker weekends are the peak; even then it moves.
Plan B — if this lot is full McCall-Everitt drawdown ramp (across the dam, free, dawn–dusk)
High Point Park (~4 mi, free)
FeeNo fee
HoursDaytime use only
SeasonOpen year-round
RestroomsModern restroom (1)
Not Available Fish cleaning · Fishing pier · Pier
Scout's Notes
Ramp Quirks & Etiquette
The Dam-End Workhorse
Two concrete lanes with fixed and floating docks, twenty marked trailer lanes, lights, a picnic area, a small beach — and the only flush restrooms on the entire lake. If Deer Point has a main ramp, this is it.
Bait Across the Road
The Dam Bait & Tackle sits directly across Highway 2321 — worms for the shellcracker beds, crickets for the bream, and the day's intel, thirty seconds from the dock. Few Florida ramps keep their bait shop this close.
Deep Water Neighbors
You're launching into the lake's deepest country: the holes by the dam hold the catfish, the old channel edges hold winter crappie, and the creek mouths of Bayou George and Bear Creek are a short run north. In drawdown season this end keeps its water longest.
Daytime Only
Bay County posts every Deer Point ramp for daytime use — no pre-dawn staging, no after-dark recovery, no exceptions on this lake. The earliest legal starts belong to whoever's at the gate when the sun is.
Mind the Dam
The dam is a few hundred yards south and it is the end of the line — no passage, ever. The water on the far side is brackish North Bay. Everything about this lake changes at that wall, including the license you need.
Sources: FWC boat-ramp inventory (BY00546FU), Bay County, Panhandle fishing-guide ramp inventory, Google Reviews (2016–2026)
About This Lake