Find the top rated hiking trails in Delaware, whether you're looking for an easy short hiking trail or a long hiking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a hiking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
We rode our recumbent bikes from South Bank Road near the Old London Tract Church (in PA) south through White Clay Creek park then on to the Pomeroy and Newark trail and finally the James F. Hall trail. There were a few rough sections and a couple of short steep hills but it was a fun ride. The trail has many signs where trails intersect the Creek Road Trail. We did notice that the "Creek Road Trail" is not listed on the signs. An adult with a group of school children helped us to find our way at the newer bridge that crosses the creek. By connecting to the other 2 trails we were able to turn the ride into a 15 mile adventure, still kinda short but pleasant.
Biked from New Castle to the Christiana River today. This portion of the trail is all paved except for the tunnel under 295 (stone), and a 50 - 100 foot section north of the tunnel (dirt). Total time walking the bike was around 5 minutes - tunnel is pretty dark. All the construction gates were open. Hopefully the small amount of paving at the tunnel will be done soon. The bridge over the Christiana is under construction.
If you park your car at the Battery Park tennis courts and bike this section of the Industrial Track and then cross Battery Park on the grass and bike the trail from Battery Park south along the Delaware, it's about 6.5 miles total, or 13 miles out and back on both. You can extend the miles by connecting the Battery Park trail with Route 9. Only saw a couple of other bikers.
Note: there is a confusing sign that says "End of Trail" as you approach 295 from the New Castle side - continue on the quiet road, then you will see the first tunnel and the trail restarts. My guess is that the sign is marking the transition from trail to the short stretch of barely used road.
We parked in Chesapeake City (under bridge past Schaefer's Canal House) and rode to the trail head. We rode about 6.5 mile East turning around at the Summit North Marina. The entire ride was on a paved surface and very smooth. There was a section that was gravel and flat that hugged the canal, but we stayed on the paved surface. There are a couple of switchbacks on the trail going up or down hill (depending on direction). May need or want to walk part of them and these climbs are the reason for 4 rather than 5 stars). Along our route, there are two good restaurants to get some food or a drink of your choice. Schaefer's and Grain at the Summit North Marina. There was some shaded path along with some in the sun. All in all, an enjoyable ride and we are working our way up to the full trail (Chesapeake City to Delaware City).
While pavement is certainly nice, the views are "okay" from the South Lums Pond entrance to DE City. You've got unchanging canal on one side, and nothing to look at on the other, just a berm of brush - with some exceptions. There is no shade at all, so be forewarned. Did enjoy seeing the various boats, altho was disappointed no ships went thru while I rode. At the Delaware City end, you do encounter nice scenery, with tidal marsh (if that's what you call it), an African-American cemetery, and a park. It was a pleasant jaunt.
This is a well maintained trail along the canal from Delaware City and connects to the Ben Cardin trail which goes to Chesapeake City. Nice views.
The trail is flat along the canal, but there are hills when it leads you inland through the marina then a jaunt through the woods (which is nice and shady) and back down to the canal. There is a newly opened section that is paved. This section avoids going through the non paved wet area. The first time we went we could not figure out how to get through the marina, but asked locals and they were happy to point out the way (minimal trail signage). There is always a prevailing wind which makes more of a workout in one direction. Great trail!
I did my first review in Nov 2013 and the signage was poor at best and now it is June 2017 and not much has changed. I have had a number of talks with DFW Delaware Fish & Wildlife and nothing has changed. Any time you call them they will just tell you there is no MONEY, I think it is a management issue. Today I did this great trail end to end round trip and it was a great day on this trail on a great day. There are no street crossings, a great surface, Park Benches, only three small hills and three great trail heads. The trail is listed in Trail Link as being 9.2 miles but is 12.05 miles and then the Maryland end is 1.8 for a total of 13.85 miles. I am sure that if this trail was managed by Delaware Stare Parks it would be a lot nicer trail. In closing the signage issue is a very big issue , mile markers and a few signs would be a great improvement.
After parking in Cape May, we ferried our bikes to Lewes and rode to Rehobeth Beach through Cape Henlopen State Park. Almost half of this very pleasant, 7.4-mile ride was on the Gordon Pond Trail. The packed-cinder trail was no issue for my 28 mm tires and the ride was smooth and incredibly scenic. We rode on a beautiful Sunday mid-morning of Memorial Day weekend and for most of the southbound trip it was like riding on I-95 in terms of traffic - never seen anything like it. I've been in bike-a-thons that were less crowded. That said, the packed trail did not detract from one of the better biking experiences I've had. Highly recommended - though you may want to choose your times with care.
The trail information was kind of confusing for us. It took us a little bit to find the trail. We would suggest parking by the zoo and you can follow the green signs on the right to the trail.
There were very challenging hills and this will take you a few hours to do on a mountain bike. I would suggest having clip on pedals for your bike. We road our mountain bikes but a road bike is another option.
We are advanced riders and we thought this was very challenging! 7.5/10
Gravel portion of trail dips beneath Summit Bridge (RT 301) and allows a fairly deep pool of tidal overflow from canal. Whether it was from tidal effect or recent rains, it was deep enough (~12")not to be able to ride thru--about 20 yards long and no way to circumvent. Didn't want to barefoot it, so turned back. Disappointed. Also, concur with other comments about strong winds--canal must generate intensification of surrounding winds--wasn't nearly as bad in parking lot.
We rode though, enjoyed sand dunes, views. Serenity.
Yesterday was the 1st time we rode the trail. We parked in Middletown and rode to Chesapeake City. There's a short section that is not paved but, not a problem. There was a couple of steep hills which we walked the bikes up. Today we parked at St. Georges Bridge and rode to Delaware City. Easy ride but, the wind coming back was brutal. Made it quite difficult. In spite of the wind, we really enjoyed our 2 day ride along the C & D Canal. Looking forward to riding it again.
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