“It’s hard for me to put into words why I like the beach so much. Everything about it is renewing for me, almost like therapy...Beach Therapy.” ~Amy Dykens
Hike: Cape Henlopen State Park: Lewes, DE
Length: 3.8 miles
Time: Approx. 2 hours
There’s nothing more fun than spending a day at the beach with friends. A friend and I headed to Delaware on Saturday anticipating an early morning on Sunday since our hike at Cape Henlopen started at 8am to attempt to beat the heat. There was a little confusion over the meeting place within the park, but once that was sorted out the day was off to a good start. We started our hike from the campground parking lot and headed to the walking dune overlook. Walking in the sand is a bit more challenging than your typical hike terrain. It’s definitely a good workout. I wasn’t sure what shoes to wear for this hike, but was glad I decided on my trail runners because I think if I’d worn my Keen sandals I’d have ended up having to get things out of my shoes all along the hike.
On our way toward the walking dune overlook we came upon one of the observation towers. These towers can be found throughout Cape Henlopen State Park. They were once used by the military during WWII. There are also several bunkers in the park that were used during WWII. We picked up several other trails and I’m not sure exactly which ones they were as I didn’t have access to a trail map during the hike. I believe we used the Pinelands Trail and possibly the Salt Marsh Trail. In total we hiked nearly four miles in the park. The trails were a mixture of shade and sun depending on where we were in the park. Trails were sand, crushed shells, or paved for the most part. We had hoped to do some bird watching around Gordon’s Pond, but found that the portion of the trail we would’ve needed was closed due to the birds’ nesting.
After the hike, we 
elected to go get lunch in nearby historic Lewes. We picked a restaurant called Kindle, which offered both indoor and outdoor seating, but after hiking all morning we decided the air conditioning would be a welcome change from the midday heat. The menu was fairly small, but offered enough variety that everyone was able to find something to eat. The food was delicious and reasonably priced (I strongly recommend the Brie Baguette)! I would definitely return to the restaurant on future trips to Lewes!
From the restaurant, we headed back to Cape Henlopen, but this time parked in the Gordon’s Pond parking lot. It was beach time! The water was chilly, but refreshing! Three of us went in to cool off and swim. The sky had gotten a bit more overcast as the day went on and it even rained on us a little bit. The rain didn’t put a damper on our time at the beach though. We were able to make the best of the day and enjoy the beach! I hope to do this hike again in the future, but plan it a bit differently perhaps to include camping at the Cape Henlopen Campgrounds.
Things I Learned This Hike:
∙Bass Pro Shop is the place to go for hiking clothes at a reasonable price! (We made a pit stop at Arundel Mills on the way to Delaware)
∙ Sunscreen is a MUST! Apply and re-apply liberally!
∙ Bug spray is critical! The horse flies and mosquitoes were intense especially in the marshy areas!
∙ Hikes that require lengthier drives need to be really well planned and directions need to be clear to fellow hikers to ensure that hike begins on time.
∙ I want to become a hike leader!!
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