Sacred Ground

Sacred Ground is a Southwest jewelry and gift shop at 20294 Garrett Highway on Deep Creek Lake, next to The Lakeside Creamery. Alongside cases of turquoise and silver jewelry, Navajo pottery and lake souvenirs, it runs the Sacred Ground Gemstone Mining Company, an outdoor sluice where you can sift for gemstones and fossils overlooking the lake. It's a stop that works for jewelry shoppers, souvenir hunters and kids alike.

From LaVale to the Lake

Owner Bob Feeney and his wife Arlene ran the store for about ten years at the Country Club Mall in LaVale before moving it to Deep Creek Lake in June 2002. Bob, who also operated a shop at Seven Springs Resort for many years, travels to the American Southwest to find new and unusual pieces, so the stock reflects his own picks.

What's in the Showcases

The jewelry fills well over a dozen showcases of handmade pieces using stones and shells from around the world, including:

• Turquoise jewelry, including stones from the now-closed Dry Creek Mine
• Native American and sterling silver jewelry, opal pieces and charoite jewelry made by Navajo artisans
• Mammoth tooth jewelry and copper bracelets

Beyond jewelry you'll find handcrafted Navajo pottery from New Mexico and Arizona, metal art and wall hangings, dreamcatchers, candles, night lights, mugs, Himalayan salt lamps, sunglasses, wooden lake signs, women's clothing and the Liberty Wear line, faith-based and American-made shirts, and Deep Creek Lake merchandise from magnets to mugs. There are puzzles, games and T-shirts for kids too.

Gemstone Mining at the Sluice

The sluice, which opened in April 2018 between Sacred Ground and The Lakeside Creamery, is big enough for a crowd. You buy a 3, 5 or 10 lb bag of mining rough, pour some into a screen tray, and hold it in the running water while the sand washes away to reveal gemstones or fossils. An identification card helps you name what you found, you keep everything, and each miner picks a free gift from the shop. The sluice is outdoors, so call or text ahead if you're visiting in the colder months.

Pair a round at the sluice with a treat next door for an easy family afternoon at the lake.

Call Us!

• Website
• (301) 723-0403
• Email