Auto Tour follows (north to south) US 13, Delaware Route 9, US 113, and Delaware Route 1 along the full length of Delaware’s bay and ocean coastline. Self-guided auto tour booklet available from Delaware State Parks interprets signed and numbered points of interest along the route. For more information about the Greenway, including how to get an Auto Tour booklet or an educational Coast Quest Activity Guide for kids, contact the State of Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation at 302-739-5285.

Delaware’s Coastal Heritage Greenway celebrates the diverse history of Delaware’s waterfront, ranging from colonial settlement in 1631 to industrialization in the 20th century. A region rich in diversity, the Coastal Heritage Greenway spans the coast of the Delaware Bay and River and the Atlantic Ocean, from Fox Point State Park north of Wilmington, to the state line in Fenwick Island. The Delaware Coastal Heritage Greenway has been designated a national Millennium Legacy Trail, selected because it reflects the essence and spirit of Delaware. 

Central Delaware makes a great home base for exploring the Delaware Coastal Heritage Greenway, a regional attraction with the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Greenway on the other side of Delaware Bay. Dover and Kent County Delaware are home to some of the most scenic open spaces and important historic sites on the Coastal Heritage Greenway. Make your own multi-day tour loop around the bay, crossing at the Delaware Memorial Bridge to the north, and the Cape-May-Lewes Ferry to the south.

Amenities: Numbered signs with self-guided tour booklet describing points of interest. Restrooms available at selected visitor attractions along the route. Call attractions prior to traveling to ensure that services are available when you plan to visit. Services are available in towns a short distance inland from the coast.

Additional Information
Several themes run through the history of the Delaware Coast, overlapping and connecting people and places, and continuing to influence life in the region.

Cultural Richness
The first identifiable theme is cultural richness, characterized by five periods of sovereignty held by four different nations in Delaware’s history. A wealth of monuments along the coast, including Fort Christina in Wilmington and the DeVries Monument in Lewes, honor Delaware’s British, Dutch, Swedish, and American heritage. In Central Delaware, learn about the Native Americans and early settlers who lived in the area at the Delaware Archaeology Museum (Meeting House Gallery I) in downtown Dover. Explore religious roots at Barratt’s Chapel and Museum in Frederica, known as the first Methodist Church in America. Meet our Amish neighbors at Spence’s Bazaar in downtown Dover.

Ecological Life
The greenway is ecologically rich, home to two national gems, Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge and Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Additionally, the state owns several wildlife areas along the coast, totaling almost 25,000 acres. All the protected lands along Delaware’s coast are on the Atlantic Flyway and are vital to the migration of birds. In particular, the Delaware Bay is the population center for the American horseshoe crab, whose eggs are a valuable energy source for the migrating birds. Also, the coastal wetlands provide natural habitat to numerous animal and plant species.

In Central Delaware, visit Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge east of Smyrna for an auto tour, nature program, or hike. The best times to visit for birdwatching are the autumn and spring months of October, November, December, April, May, and June. Enjoy the songbirds and year-round camping at Killens Pond State Park near Felton.

Several State Wildlife Areas offer observation platforms, impoundments, hiking trails, and boat ramps along the Delaware Bay coast, including Woodland Beach Wildlife Area east of Smyrna, and Little Creek Wildlife Area and Ted Harvey Conservation Area east of Dover. For beachcombing, birdwatching, and saltwater fishing, several Delaware Bay beaches are open to the public. Woodland Beach offers a fishing pier and small sandy beach. Pickering Beach and Kitts Hummock are good spots for watching shorebirds on the mud flats and for beachcombing (but parking is limited.) Bowers Beach is a quaint fishing town with a public fishing beach, boat ramps, charter fishing boats that go out into the bay, and seasonal seafood restaurants. 

Coastal Defense
Several remaining cities and forts have been instrumental to the protection of the Delaware River and Bay, an important estuary in the defense of the United States. For example, Lewes, located just west of Cape Henlopen, defended the Delaware coast in the War of 1812, when the British blockaded the bay and bombarded the town. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Fort Delaware, on Pea Patch Island, housed Confederate prisoners of war during the Civil War. This fort, along with Fort Saulsbury, stood strong while protecting the Delaware estuary in World Wars I and II. Later, Fort Miles, which opened in 1941 at Cape Henlopen at the mouth of the Delaware Bay, was instrumental to the defense of the area throughout World War II.

A must-see on your visit to Kent County is the Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover Air Force Base. U.S Army Air Force pilots once practiced bombing raids over Kent County’s coastal marshes. And don’t miss a summer season visit to Fort Delaware State Park! (about a 45-minute drive north of Dover) The passenger ferry to Pea Patch Island leaves Delaware City according to schedule, April through September. 

Industrialization
While Wilmington has been the state’s industrial center, other cities haven’t escaped the march of progress. As early as the 17th century and up until World War II, shipbuilding was one of the state’s largest industries, centered in Wilmington and farther south in Milford. Canning, an industry evoked from the state’s agricultural production, contributed to the statewide economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. More recently, the chemical industry, with the growth of the Dupont Company, has become one of Delaware’s largest industries. The Milford Museum in downtown Milford highlights its early shipbuilding history with model ships and other maritime exhibits. The railroad was also important in the mid-1800’s, especially for western Kent County. It’s “all aboard” the caboose at the Harrington Railroad Museum in downtown Harrington, for a look at riding the rails.

Agriculture
Believe it or not, before Georgia took the title, Delaware was once the peach capital of the country. Its reign came to an end when, in the late 19th century, “peach yellows” disease killed off most of the bountiful orchards. However, in the 1940’s, a new agricultural enterprise emerged when Sussex County became the largest broiler chicken-producing county in the country. Agriculture continues to be vital to the economy of Delaware, especially in Kent and Sussex counties. See the first commercial broiler chicken house in the country at the Delaware Agricultural Museum & Village in Dover. The museum and village offer a fun and nostalgic view of how our food was once grown, and the role that farming plays in the lives of Delawareans. Mark your calendar for the Wyoming Peach Festival in early August, for the homemade peach ice cream!

Resort Life
Not surprisingly, resort beaches along the Delaware River and Bay have always been popular vacation spots. With improved transportation in the late 19th century, Delaware’s ocean resorts have grown in popularity. Today Rehoboth Beach is the largest of these resorts, busy with visitors in warm weather. In Central Delaware, explore North Bowers Beach, an old-fashioned fishing resort on Delaware Bay southeast of Dover. Charter fishing and seasonal dockside dining are some of the summer season activities found there. The sleepy town of Woodland Beach, northeast of Smyrna, was once a bustling summer resort with amusement rides, a boardwalk and dance hall, until a devastating storm in 1878 left the town a virtual island. 

Maritime History
The commercial fishing industry has long been important to eastern Kent and Sussex counties, and oysters and muskrats have been popular treats. As well, remnants of past port towns lie along the greenway. Lighthouses, which aided many a vessel navigating through the rough Delaware Bay and River, add to this maritime atmosphere. Winter brings two unique culinary treats to local restaurants in Kent County – oysters and muskrats! Look for fresh oysters at local seafood shops and restaurants. Try something new – muskrat is still served during the winter season in some small restaurants in Smyrna and Magnolia. 

Many more sites reminiscent of these themes lie along the path of the Coastal Heritage Greenway, as the Delaware Bay and River have been central to the rich heritage of Delaware’s coast.