Mark’s Score 9.2
I tend to prefer the bayside parks to the beach parks. But having said that, Cape Henlopen State Park is one of the best parks on the entire peninsula. I avoid it in the summer, but in winter if offers some of the best hiking trails to be found anywhere on the peninsula. My last visit took place on a beautifully crisp fall day; a perfect day for a hike. My intent was to hike the Gordon’s Pond Trail, but serendipity lead me in another direction.
During World War II the US Army built Fort Miles on Cape Henlopen as part of the United States costal defense system. Most of the costal defense facilities in the park still exist, and are open to the public. But wars end, and the defense network became redundant. The army turned the facility into a military recreation site and then eventually it turned the 5,000-acre (2,023 hectares) park over to the State of Delaware in 1964. Over the years the state has expanded the facility to include 8 trails, the Fort Miles Museum, a campground, the Biden Environmental Center, and the Seaside Nature Center.
The park encompasses all of Cape Henlopen and is surrounded by Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, but I skipped the beaches and drove out to the Fort Miles battery parking lot. My intent was to hike the Gordon’s Pond Trail. That trail takes you through marshland on west side of Gordon’s Pond. However, I turned right instead of left at the parking lot and it was ten minutes before I realized I was hiking the Walking Dunes Trail. At that point I was committed so I decided to embrace my mistake. I then followed the trail to the Salt Marsh Spur.
When I reached the spur trail, I stopped for a moment trying to decide whether I would proceed on Walking Dunes or loop back to the parking lot via the Salt Marsh Spur. As I stood there contemplating my options, a couple of bikers stopped to see if I needed help, because apparently, I looked lost. I explained I wasn’t lost; I was just trying to decide which trail to take. They convinced me to take the Salt Marsh Spur, and I am glad they did.
The Salt Marsh spur takes you down a spit of high ground through the marshes. There are markers along the way pointing to evidence of native American settlement. The markers also explain that the land on which you are walking was once ocean, and as time passed the land moved further north into Delaware Bay. As a bonus, while walking along the trail I ran into a majestic six-point buck. He ran just ahead of me for about a quarter of a mile.
Now that I am older, I appreciate the less vigorous hikes in the gentle subtle beauty of salt marshes, and Cape Henlopen offers multiple trials that provide beautiful vistas and abundant wildlife, and I get to have it all to myself all winter long.
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