On the Trail of Delmarva Trails
While the winter season, with its cold rain, snow, and windstorms may deter some, wintertime cycling is one of my favorite physical (and often, sensory) experiences. I switch from my road bike to my mountain bike and I take on the natural paths (also known as the single-tracks) in our state parks for a vigorous ride.
Cycling is a sport open to most, with price points ranging from free to low-cost to high-end, public trail networks, and readily available bicycle services. Many state park systems provide elaborate maps, tool kiosks, bicycle rentals, and well-maintained trails and natural paths. It’s also a sport that can be solitary or communal: you can take that quiet ride alone, and/or ride with a cycling club or participate in charity rides.
Many cyclists of all walks of life and ages, on many types of bicycles, are spinning on the growing network of trails in eastern Sussex County. Local cyclists from Delaware worked for years to convert a retired railroad into a community trail. Built more than 15 years ago to connect the cities of Lewes and Rehoboth, the Junction & Breakwater Trail offers cyclists a safe (and appealing) means of travel. Meanwhile, a natural trail in Redden State Forest near Georgetown offers a blissful pedal far away from the roadways and heavy traffic, passing under a canopy of splendid native trees.
Just a few miles north, the City of Dover offers safe networks of trails that provide scenic rides along the St. Jones River and under the busy skies of the Dover Air Force Base. Like many trail networks, the Dover system is supported with bike lanes and paved asphalt that meets federal accessibility standards.
New Castle County earns praise for many trail networks and plenty of terrain variety with its latest signature trail (for all cyclists) completed a few years ago on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.
Cyclists also are out there on the trails available across the Delmarva Peninsula. Many of these trails resulted from a movement to build community trails that grew in earnest more than 20 years ago, helped along with state and federal funding. These regional trails offer a wide variety of features and are incredible community assets across Delmarva.
Expanded and dedicated land preservation assures that trails will continue to spread across Delmarva’s forested lands, open fields, and over tidal wetlands. Nestled among native cypress and verdant habitats, or expertly carved along scenic waterways, many trails offer a multitude of visual pleasures.
A personal favorite for my year-round cycling is the Kent Island-Cross Island Trail that weaves across the iconic island of Queen Anne’s County, Maryland. Threaded among stands of trees, preservation acreage, and rural county landscape, the trail is a signature of the Eastern Shore.
The beauty of this trail opens at the Terrapin Park Preserve, mere feet from the eastern Chesapeake Bay. Approximately 20 miles long and with a recently minted wooden bridge, the trail curves and weaves with only a few roadway intersections and takes the cyclist on a visual tour of Chesapeake country. The original drawbridge of Kent Narrows for Chesapeake marine traffic connects the eastern half of the Cross Island Trail at the junction of Route 50.
My aim here is to encourage any cyclist to get those wheels spinning. Wintertime cycling may not appeal, but before long, the Mid-Atlantic weather will change—and a few sun-filled hours and a bit of warmth will serve to fill the trails, too: cycling along the Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia coastal resort towns and parks has long been popular among residents and summer visitors. Interested in joining them?
You’re in luck! There are excellent local bike shops serving cyclists’ interests and skills. If you are shopping for a new ride or shiny new helmet—they can help. They offer a wide range of prices, with impressive inventories of “everything bicycles,” often including the very best in bicycling apparel and accessories. Many also offer robust service operations, with trained and certified mechanics—many of whom are active cyclists.
Cycling is a sport that varies in intensity: there’s the easy ride of a few miles along a path or trail; there’s also the multi-mile, cross-island tour. Whichever you choose, keep your bike in tune, fasten your helmet, be weather aware, if it’s hunting season check that schedule, and take in the Delmarva Peninsula as you seek out your favorite ride and find “your” trail. ▼
JuneRose (aka JR) Futcher is a native of Delaware, a lifelong sailor and cyclist, an award-winning photographer, and a community and arts activist.
Photo: JR Futcher