One week in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware: Trip to Delaware Seashore State Park and Cape Henlopen State Park
While we lived in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, one of our favorite places to visit was the state of Delaware, just 45 minutes south of us via the Blue Route (I-476), followed by I-95. We visited so many wonderful places like any number of former DuPont family residences/gardens, Wilmington Riverfront, and Dover.
We would also go on walks to several parks in Delaware with our dog Toby and would spend a day out there, eating delicious foods while taking in the beautiful scenery. It was in one of these walks with our dog that we discovered parks near Delaware beaches.
Such park, Cape Henlopen State Park, was fairly far away from the suburbs of Philadelphia at just over 2 hours of driving time. Back in those days, I was eager to get out of our home, trying to de-stress, unwind by going outdoors.
Of course our dog Toby, gladly obliged, eager to go on new adventures with his mommy and daddy on a weekend. He really loved going out, eagerly waiting to jump on to the backseat of our car.
In that respect, Toby was so similar to me. We both loved exploring new places, experiencing new stimuli like new surroundings, new smells, and new foods! He and I would have this ritual when we would get to a new place, to sniff the air and to look around. It must’ve looked funny to others, each mimicking the other.
We picked up some local foods on that particular trip, then ate them at the park, before venturing out into couple of hiking trails. The popular Dune Overlook Trail was one of the more memorable trails we hiked that day. Toby didn’t like the feel of sand underneath his paws, but he adjusted after some time.
It really was a great memory for all of us, spending time together as a pack at a new surrounding. With this fond memory alive and well, we decided to revisit it one of these days.
That day finally arrived in February, when we were heading towards New York City after spending few months in the warmer climates of South Carolina and North Carolina. We had just previously spent 23 nights in nearby Ocean City, Maryland, and it was time to move.
We had booked a one week stay at the Home2 Suites Rehoboth Beach for a very reasonable price of just under $700. We knew the area well, having visited there several times with and without our dog. It would be like visiting an old friend.
We left the excellent Double Tree by Hilton Ocean City Oceanfront around 10 in the morning, heading up north. By the time we checked in to our hotel, which was late afternoon (after a stop along the way), we were ready to relax.
As is the case for us once we check in to any hotel, we relaxed with a warm shower and with a warm decaf coffee in our hands. By this time in our Hilton hotel journey, we had come to expect certain things from the Home2 Suites Hotels.
One of those is modern, clean, spacious, comfortable room and the other is a hearty breakfast! In these regards, this particular hotel didn’t disappoint.
We walked in to our temporary home for the next 7 nights, with a view of a car wash right in front of us. Oh, well. It wasn’t exactly a nice view but we’ve had worse. It’s better to be appreciative of things in life to ensure happiness and well being…
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| Home2 Suites Rehoboth Beach |
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| View of a car wash right outside |
Using this hotel as our base camp for the next 7 nights, we revisited one of our favorite parks in Delaware and we visited a new place as well. These are the highlights of our trip back to Rehoboth Beach area:
- Delaware Seashore State Park
Because we couldn’t check in to our hotel until well after 2 o’clock, we decided to visit the Delaware Seashore State Park on our way to the hotel. This was a park we would drive by on our many visits to Ocean City, so we knew it was time to finally visit this place.
Delaware Seashore State Park is a popular coastal park with over 6 miles of ocean and 20 miles of bay shoreline. It features activities like fishing, swimming, camping, hiking, and biking, and with its historic Indian River Life-Saving Station, it has plenty of things to do and see.
What we were interested in doing though, was hiking. I had read some good reviews on its popular trail, Burton Island Trail, so we were eager to check that trail out.
We arrived at the park and found it just about empty on a chilly and windy February morning. We drove around trying to get a feel for the place.
We found the area near the Charles W. Cullen Memorial Bridge particularly appealing, so we stopped there for several minutes to walk around. Nice views indeed!
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| Charles W. Cullen Memorial Bridge |
The wind was biting and it was cold! We didn’t last very long outside, so we headed inland, towards the trailhead. We found one other car beside ours at the trailhead, and we started our hike after putting in our hiking boots.
Wind was definitely less harsh inland, and we were thankful. We could finally enjoy the outdoors again!
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| Beginning of the hike |
We crossed into Burton Island via a land bridge with views of the Balders Pond on either side. Views were expansive and despite the cold, we really enjoyed the deep brown/orange colors of the marsh.
We crossed over, then hiked on unpaved, gravel trail with some boardwalks thrown in. It was a refreshing hike, with the smell of the seas mixed in with earthy marshlands adding to the experience.
It sure was good to be outdoors after being cooped up inside different hotel rooms the past 23 days…
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| Walking in to the maritime forest |
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| Nice view of the bridge |
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| Loved this boardwalk along the marsh |
We got to a portion of the trail where it led to the shore, and the views were even better. We got a good view of the bridge, close up, along with the bay views.
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| Nice view of the bridge |
We wrapped up our hike in less than 40 minutes at a leisurely pace (1.3 mile loop trail). We met several fellow hikers along the hike. We always find it strange to meet people on a cold weekday morning on a trail, even if we’re doing exactly that ourselves.
If we like to hike, then surely there are others out there just like us, right?
- Cape Henlopen State Park
Cape Henlopen State Park is an over 5,000 acre park that sits smack between the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay. It features pristine beaches, maritime forests, and is a haven for recreation. The last time we visited there was easily over 7 years ago, and we were ready to revisit it.
We left our hotel, then drove around 20 minutes to arrive at the Point Beach Parking Lot. This is a beautiful spot for sunset lovers, but we were there to hike the beach area.
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| Fishing Pier Cape Henlopen |
Day was beautiful, sunny, and we literally could see for miles. We chose to hike on the deserted beach with the Atlantic Ocean all to ourselves. To get some exercise in, we looped around by turning right from the parking lot to hike in a counterclockwise direction.
Despite the biting winds, especially so close to the ocean, we cherished the fact that we were outdoors. Oh, yeah, outdoors with plenty of awesome scenery. We walked for close to 30 minutes, hugging the coastline.
We came close enough to the beautiful Delaware Breakwater East End Lighthouse to our right with the Fishing Pier Cape Henlopen on our left. Views were fantastic! It was exactly how we remembered the place when we last came here with Toby.
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| Delaware Breakwater East End Lighthouse |
After finishing this hike, we decided to do one more hike, the Seaside Nature Trail. We drove to the Seaside Nature Center, parked there, then easily found the trail just left on the nature center.
We walked into a maritime forest with tall trees providing cover from the sun at the beginning of the trail. The air was clean, fresh with a hint of pine mixed with the smells of the ocean. It was perfect…
We hiked another 30 minutes, walking at a leisurely pace, just lazily taking in the scenery. By the time we looped back to the nature center, we were ready to get back to our hotel.
It’s always great to go outdoors, but it’s even better when we make it back to our hotel afterwards! Taking a warm shower then relaxing with a cold beverage followed, wrapping up an awesome day at the Cape Henlopen State Park.
In conclusion:
We’re definitely getting used to living in different Hilton hotels. Home2 Suites for us (along with Homewood Suites) provide spacious, clean rooms with awesome breakfasts!
It’s a nice place to stay even long term like for 15 nights (Ocean City), or in this case 7 nights. With plenty of room to move about, we didn’t feel cramped. Sure, had we stayed at one for two months, we may not be saying that, but we think we could live in one for up to a month.
We really enjoyed all of our stays in Ocean City (Home2 Suites, Hilton Garden Inn Oceanfront, Double Tree Oceanfront), as well as this stay at the Home2 Suites Rehoboth Beach. We lived, we explored, and we hiked during those 30 nights.
We’re looking forward to staying at more Hilton hotels in the near future…
Thank you for reading and happy trails!
Jake
Wandering Money Pig
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