Great Delmarva Bicycling Trail
Bicyclists on the East Coast finally have access to a network of cycling trails— ranging from 8-1,000 miles—through every county on the Delmarva peninsula. Delmarva Low Impact Tourism Experiences (DLITE), a coalition of county tourism and conservation professionals, created the first-of-its-kind ADC map.
Two years in the making, the bicycling trail, running from the C&D Canal south through Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia on the Eastern Shore, connects over 70 wildlife havens via rural roads.
Stops along the way include the Bombay Hook, Prime Hook, Blackwater and Chincoteague wildlife refuges, Assateague Island, Pocomoke River State Forest, Deal Island, 15 state parks, and 25 wildlife management areas.
All told, the trails cover more than 2,000 miles of rural roads through cypress swamp, upland, tidal marsh and coastal plain forest. Each county in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia has its own set of trails called flyways. Capable cyclists will be able to take a primary route from the C & D Canal down the rural roads on the east side of the peninsula to Cape Charles and back up the west side through the extensive marshes and forests along the Chesapeake. Weekend warriors can try the county routes which range from 8-30 miles. All routes are fit for road bikes as well as mountain bikes.
On the backside of the 27"X39" map is information on points of cultural interest, birding sites, cycling safety, kayaking trails, and crabbing, clamming, and fishing spots. Ten of the 14 Eastern Shore counties allocated funds for the project along with the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, Center for the Inland Bays, and Princeton Sports. A federal grant, secured by US Senator Barbara Mikulski (MD), helped kickstart the project.
DLITE, a 501 (c) (3), created the Delmarva Alliance for Bicycling to help fund the ambitious $50,000 project. The alliance will help fund future map upgrades or route changes as warranted. Maps will be sold for $5 each and will be available at each county tourism office on the shore by the end of January. Members of the Alliance or DLITE get the maps for free. DLITE is currently working on Delmarva kayaking trail maps and a Cape to Cape birding trail which will run from Cape May, NJ to Cape Charles, VA.
Maps can be ordered by calling 443-944-8097 or by email dlitedirector@comcast.net or download an order form and mail with check payable to Delmarva Lite. Order forms with payment can be mailed to the following address:
Delmarva Low-Impact Tourism Experiences (DLITE)
P.O. Box 669
Salisbury, MD 21803
