Biking: the C & D Canal
Posted By BrokenClaw on June 26, 2002
The Chesapeake and Delaware (C & D) Canal stretches across the top of the Delmarva peninsula from the Chesapeake Bay to the Delaware River. The idea of a canal was first proposed in colonial times to connect Maryland commerce with the industrial colonies to the north, but a working canal was not completed until 1829. A hundred years later the canal was improved, widened and lowered to sea level.
Today the canal continues as a major seaway between Baltimore and Philadelphia. Although the land along the canal is not designated as state park land or improved as recreational trails, the access roads provide an acceptable venue for biking. The C & D Canal had been suggested to us by friends, but we weren’t sure where to start.
We drove into Chesapeake City, MD, on the south bank of the canal and parked at a municipal lot. We found an access to the canal and began riding west. We passed a large freighter docked on the opposite shore. The canal was also filled with pleasure boats and jet skis. However, our ride was interrupted when the access road abruptly ended only about a mile or so from Chesapeake City. So we turned around.
Next we rode south out of town, away from the canal, on MD Route 286 into the farmland. It was all uphill, and we didn’t go very far before Trailwalker suggested turning back. We decided to load the bikes back on the car and to try the other side of the canal. We drove across the MD Route 213 suspension bridge to the north side of Chesapeake City. We could see the access road along the canal, but it took a little while to find a parking spot where we were sure we wouldn’t get ticketed. We finally parked in a gravel lot directly beneath the bridge in what appeared to be public parking.
We started riding east. The access road is paved for about a mile, then it becomes a gravel road. We soon crossed into Delaware, although we didn’t see any official border sign. The gravel surface of the road is fairly even. There are periodic turnoffs and parallel roads at various heights along the bank, but for the most part we stayed right along the shore. The prevailing breeze was to our backs, so we knew we’d have to contend with it on the return trip. We watched the pleasure boats speeding by and the occassional freighter and tugboat. You have to remain alert on the road, because the motor vehicles apparently are not accustomed to sharing the road with bicycles. The access roads seem to be used mainly by people fishing the canal. We passed several public wooden piers like the one in the photo. The funny thing is, the State of Delaware does not recommend eating fish from the canal because of unhealthy levels of PCB. Nevertheless, we saw numerous people fishing from the bank and piers.
A few miles into Delaware we passed under the US Route 301 suspension bridge. Further ahead we could see a vertical lift bridge, but for our first time here we did not ride that far. Our trip back was uneventful, except for an encounter between Broken Claw and a barking, unleashed dog. Fortunately, the owner was able to call him back before it got nasty. The wind in our face did make for slower pedaling west, but we made it back to Chesapeake City in due time.
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