While I’ve always appreciated all of the beautiful nature spots in Sussex County, I’m especially grateful for the Rotary Club’s Great Walks & Trails Guide and am going to continue posting about some of the most interesting ways to experience nature down near the beach.
This week I’m spotlighting a very walkabout that’s especially appealing for history lovers – one that runs right through downtown Lewes. It’s known to locals as the Lewes Maritime History Trail and starts way down at the end of Pilottown Road beside the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean and Environment.
The campus is especially lovely because it’s centered around a wide, low-slung building that blends in beautifully with the open sky and marshlands and soft blues of Delaware Bay and the Broadkill River. In the distance you’ll see the majestic 400 foot tall wind turbine that powers the whole campus.
Walk southward from there along Pilottown Road and you’ll see dozens of historic homes dating back into the mid 1850s on your right . . . and scores of much newer modern homes on streets that lead to Lewes Beach on the left. In the middle is the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal, where you’ll see fishing boats and other pleasure craft gently chugging toward the entrance to the Bay or, going southward, on their journey toward Rehoboth.
After a leisurely walk of a mile or so, you’ll come to Canalfront Park, home of the Lewes Life-Saving Station that harkens back to the days when Delaware Bay was most treacherous and when so many were saved from drowning by six or seven-man crews who rowed out to storm-tossed waters for heroic rescues.
The park also houses the Overfalls Lightship, which can be boarded for tours that detail how these vessels anchored miles offshore and served as floating lighthouses to give incoming and outgoing ships a vantage point as they navigated the treacherous waters of the Atlantic ocean and Delaware Bay. In addition to its perfectly preserved bridge with circa 1930 navigation instruments, you can view the galley that looks precisely as it did during the ship’s heyday and staff quarters with neatly-made bunks.
Canalfront Park is a fine place to linger, with benches that offer peaceful views of the canal, a playground for your grandkids, a fishing pier and, close by, the 1812 Memorial Park, which commemorates Lewes’ defense against a notable British bombardment and is highlighted by the Cannonball House Museum, which is open for tours at certain times of the day during the warm months.
Keep walking through downtown Lewes to the Zwaanendael Museum, which celebrates Delaware’s first European colony and includes wonderful exhibits related to maritime life, and stroll in several directions to experience the town’s historic tree-lined streets.
Head north on Third Street for a stroll through the Historic Lewes Town Campus with lovely historic house museums, a tavern, doctor’s office and schoolhouse . . . or east to Adams Avenue and Kings Highway to the Lewes History Museum for more fascinating details of the first town in the first state.
If you’re there during the day, Olive and Oats, in the plaza across from 1812 Park, is a special lunch spot, and so is Eggcellent. Head over to Savannah Road and walk a quarter mile to Honey’s Farm Fresh for a wonderful breakfast and lunch menu as well.
A FEW NOTES: You can park at the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment at the end of Pilottown Road or on one of Lewes’ residential streets (easiest if you’re not there during the peak summer months) and see it all by bike. You can also pick up a brochure with details on all of the sights at the Lewes Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, located in the Fisher-Martin House behind the Zwaanendael Museum on Kings Highway. For hours and more information, call 302 645 8073.
Whether you’re a lifelong resident or a newcomer still discovering our historic streets, thank you for being a part of what makes the Delaware coast so special. Sharing these local treasures is our favorite part of the job, and we’re so grateful to have a community of readers who appreciate the history and natural beauty of Lewes as much as we do. We hope to see you out on the trail or grabbing a bite at one of our local favorites soon—be sure to wave hello if you see us! Thank you for trusting us as your local guides, both in real estate and in making the most of life at the beach.
From all of us here at Active Adults Realty, stay well, friends.