Most people would agree that something as simple as a brisk daily walk can help one live a healthier life. Some examples include maintaining a healthy weight and losing body fat, improving one’s mood, and preventing or managing various health-related conditions, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.
Biking offers similar benefits plus a few others. It’s a low impact activity that is good for strength, stamina and aerobic fitness. Biking can be as intense as you want, and electric bikes make it even easier for those who may have difficulty maneuvering a regular bike.
Sussex County boasts a plethora of walking/biking trails that crisscross each other to provide a wide variety of choices on paths that are devoid of speeding cars. A bonus is the fact that many trails provide access to pristine outdoor venues and historical sites.
One of the most picturesque and popular is Cape Henlopen State Park’s 2.7-mile Gordon Pond Trail that combines a packed gravel surface with a boardwalk overpass through a marsh habitat. Gordon’s Pond is 900-acre saltwater lagoon that also serves as a sanctuary for migrating birds. There is an elevated platform on the trail that provide a perfect viewing spot for herons, bald eagles, Snow Geese, Canada geese and migrating ducks and the trail offers views and/or access to several of Delaware’s World War 2 Towers.
The trail stretches to the northern end of the State Park and connects with the Junction and Breakwater Trail where cyclists can venture into the town of Lewes. The large Gordon’s Pond parking lot can hold about 500 cars. The entire trip would be a long walk on foot but there are plenty of other options.
Another popular route is the 17-mile Lewes-Georgetown Trail that currently stretches from Lewes to Cool Spring and soon will run all the way to Georgetown when completed. The trail follows the rail bed of the former Delaware Coast Line Railroad. The tree-lined, low impact trail is perfect for walking or biking.
A particularly interesting portion of the trail borders the Lewes Public Library and continues north toward Lewes proper. You might call it the “art stretch” since several Lewes neighbors have provided creative elements along the way such as a spiral in the ground that is made of bricks, a large colorful LOVE “sculpture, and a well-thought-out garden that features a metal frog, a pink flamingo and even an old gas pump. One homeowner mindfully provides a bowl of water for dogs walking with their owners.
This stretch of the trail offers plenty of choices for a meal or a snack since it is near plenty of restaurants, including The Station on Kings, a unique stopping off point that combines the restaurant, a pastry bar, a gift shop and a garden shop. It is open for breakfast and lunch.
Of course, there are many more opportunities to walk or bike nature trails such as the Nature Conservancy-McCabe Preserve just off of Cave Neck Road near Milton, the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge on Turkle Pond Road just east of the Rt 1 and 16 intersection, or the Seashore State Park-Burton Island trail that is midway between Dewey Beach and Bethany Beach on the shores of Rehoboth Bay.
The Cape Gazette has published a very thorough magazine called Great Walks and Trails in Sussex County. It’s free and a very useful resource for recreationalists.
By Mary Jo Tarallo, Resident Journalist
Mary Jo Tarallo spent much of her career in public relations with various non-profits and spent 40 years involved with the ski industry as a journalist, public relations director for a national trade association and as executive director of the Learn to Ski and Snowboard initiative. Prior to her ski industry involvement she worked for the Maryland International Center in Baltimore and United Way of Central Maryland. She won a Gold Award for TV programming for a United Way simulcast that starred Oprah Winfrey. She has been cited for her work by numerous organizations. Mary Jo grew up in Baltimore, attended the University of Maryland and Towson University, lived in Washington, DC for 21 years and has been a full time resident of Rehoboth Beach and Milton since May 2019.
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