Mark’s Score 8.9
Bethany is not on a barrier island, so it has no tidal bay behind it. But just north of town is one of the prettiest ocean bays (in my view) on the peninsula, the Indian River Bay. Along the southern shore of the bay, on 150 acres (61 hectares) surrounding Pasture Point Cove is the James Farm Ecological Park. In many ways Pasture Point Cove reminds me of Watsons Bay in Sydney, Australia. The Indian River Bay may not be as dramatic as Sydney Harbor, but it isn’t far behind and it has its own special beauty.
The property was donated to the public trust by Mary Lighthipe. Mary was a member of the James family who had farmed the property for generations. The park is currently run by the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays (CIB). This piece of property has not been a farm for many years and it has reverted back to its original state. To facilitate that process, the CIB has planted over 4,000 trees on the property over the past 25 years.
Today the preserve has over 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) of trails, with three observation platforms, a sandy beach (with spectacular views of the bay), a kayak kiosk, wildflower gardens, and an amphitheater. The park highlights the flora and fauna of a northeastern coastal wetland and is populated with deer, foxes, ducks, salt marsh cord grass, glasswort, bayberry, marsh alders, loblolly pines, southern red oak, hickory, sweet gum, and sassafras.
Arturo and I visited the park early on a cool autumn morning. Consequently, we had the place to ourselves. In spite of the fact that Arturo decided that we would do our walk at a forced march pace, it was bucolic and a perfect morning for a stroll. Within five minutes of our arrival, we saw two white tail deer and a red fox. The sun was just at the right angle providing golden rays of light through the dense forest.
The parking lot is some distance from the bay. We had to walk through a canopy of trees on very well-maintained trials. Though it is a least a mile (1.6 kilometers) walk from the parking lot to the shore it is an easy walk and there is a charm to marshland forests that I quite enjoy.
The gold nugget of this park is not the trails nor the marshland forest, but what is at the end of those trails. You come out onto a very small sandy beach that provides spectacular views of Indian Bay. The end of the trials also brings you to the kayak kiosk. If I hadn’t had Arturo with me, I would have most definitely rented a kayak to explore the foreshore. There are a number of quiet coves to explore that are just a short distance from the kiosk. Even the most inexperienced kayaker would have no difficulty exploring the nearby coves.
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