Dawn over the dunes and beach at Cape Henlopen State Park, Sussex County, Delaware

Hiking in Sussex County, DE: Every Trail Worth Walking

Sussex County packs five state parks, a national wildlife refuge, and Delaware’s largest state forest into one corner of the coast.

That adds up to 19 named public hiking trails worth walking.

This guide covers all of them: real distances, surfaces, fees, and dog rules, each pulled from the official page that states it. Sussex County’s best outdoor spots are public land; you just need to know they exist.

Scan the table, check the Quick Answers, then read the card for any trail that catches your eye.

Jump to a section or trail

Trail directory: quick comparison

Trail Best for Essential stat
Cape Henlopen State Park
Junction & Breakwater Rail-trail history, marsh views ~6-8 mi / Asphalt + stone
Gordons Pond Boardwalks and birdlife ~5 mi round trip / Stone + boardwalk
Walking Dunes Linking the Cape network 2.6 mi / Crushed stone
Bike Loop Paved, stroller-friendly 3.8 mi / Paved
Trap Pond State Park
Bob Trail The cypress swamp loop 4.5 mi / Earth + boardwalk
American Holly Short accessible walk 0.7 mi / Crushed stone
Holts Landing State Park
Sea Hawk Hiking-only quiet 1.3 mi / Packed earth
Seahorse Multi-use bay-side loop 1.8 mi / Dirt
Delaware Seashore & Ocean View
Prickly Pear Meadows and bay views 3.5 mi / Stone + sand
Fred Hudson Road Town-to-trail connector 1.6 mi / Asphalt + stone
Assawoman Canal Canal-side stroll 1.2 mi / Crushed stone
Redden State Forest (free)
Redden HQ Loop Free forest miles 4.0 mi / Packed earth
Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge (free)
Boardwalk Trail Accessible marsh views 0.55 mi / Boardwalk
Pine Grove Short wooded loop 0.79 mi / Natural
Black Farm Longer refuge walk 1.92 mi / Natural
Blue Goose A bit of challenge 1.84 mi / Natural
Dike Trail Accessible viewing platform 0.49 mi / Hard surface
Photography Blind Bird photography 0.16 mi / Natural
Long-distance routes
Georgetown-Lewes Long flat miles, free 11 mi open / Asphalt

How to use: the gray rows are the parks, in the same order as the sections below. The essential stat shows distance and surface, the two things that decide most trail choices. Cards below add fees, dogs, parking and sources.

Quick Answers

  • Free, no entrance fee: Georgetown-Lewes Trail, Redden HQ Loop, and all six Prime Hook trails.
  • Wheelchair or stroller friendly: Prime Hook’s Boardwalk and Dike Trails, the American Holly Trail, the paved Bike Loop, and the Georgetown-Lewes Trail. The full roundup is in the accessible trails guide.
  • First visit to the county: start with Gordons Pond, then the Bob Trail.
  • Dogs: leashed pets are welcome on most trails, but rules differ park by park.

Cape Henlopen State Park trails

The marquee park near Lewes. Four connected trails plus a paved loop form a network you can mix into a half-day outing.

Junction & Breakwater Trail

The quick take: a designated National Recreation Trail on an 1800s rail line, crossing the Holland Glade marsh on an 80-foot railroad bridge built in 1913.

  • ~6 to 8 mi point-to-point | asphalt + crushed stone | no trail fee
  • Dogs and strollers welcome | restrooms and water at the Wolfe Neck Road trailhead

Best for: flat miles with history and marsh views. Skip if: you want a loop; this one needs a turnaround or a shuttle.

Trail details are on the Delaware Greenways page. Sources measure it differently (TrailLink 8.3 mi, a Greenways profile 5.8) depending on whether the Rehoboth road connections count. Parking sits at Cape Henlopen High School, Wolfe Neck Road, the Tanger Outlets, and the Lewes Library trailhead, where it meets the Georgetown-Lewes Trail. The trail’s complete guide covers every trailhead in detail.

Gordons Pond Trail

The quick take: boardwalk overlooks above a 900-acre saltwater lagoon that Delaware Greenways calls one of only four waterfowl migration superhighways in North America.

  • ~3.2 mi one-way, 5+ round trip | crushed stone + 3,000 ft of boardwalk
  • Leashed dogs welcome | fee at the Herring Point lot, none at the Rehoboth Gordons Pond lot

Best for: birdlife, dune views, a first taste of the county. Skip if: summer heat bothers you; shade is scarce on the open stretches.

Details are on the Delaware Greenways trail page. The trail closed in spring 2026 for repairs to high-tide damage and fully reopened by May 21, 2026. Bottlenose dolphins are sometimes spotted from Herring Point in summer, and the full Gordons Pond guide has the access details.

Walking Dunes Trail

The quick take: the 2.6-mile crushed-stone connector that ties Gordons Pond to the Bike Loop near the 80-foot Great Dune.

  • 2.6 mi point-to-point | crushed stone | park fee
  • Leashed dogs welcome, per TrailLink

Best for: stitching the Cape Henlopen network into one long walk. Skip if: you only have time for one trail; pick Gordons Pond instead.

Cape Henlopen State Park Bike Loop

The quick take: a paved 3.8-mile loop past the Fort Miles WWII historic area and Fire Control Tower 12, walkable as much as rideable.

  • 3.8 mi loop | paved, mostly level with two steep sections | park fee
  • Parking and restrooms at the Seaside Nature Center | details on TrailLink

Best for: strollers, mixed walking-and-riding groups, WWII history. Skip if: sharing with cyclists annoys you.

Spring brings horseshoe-crab nesting beaches on the bay side.

Trap Pond State Park: the cypress loop

Bald cypress trees standing in the water of Trap Pond, Trap Pond State Park, Delaware

Inland near Laurel, and the county’s quiet counterweight to the coast. This is the only place on this list where a trail circles a true cypress swamp.

Bob Trail

The quick take: a 4.5 to 4.6-mile loop around the 90-acre pond, crossing boardwalk bridges over freshwater cypress swamp.

  • 4.5-4.6 mi loop | packed earth, boardwalk, crushed stone | park fee
  • Rated easy by Delaware Greenways | equestrian use restricted to the southwestern portion
  • Parking at the Baldcypress Nature Center (closed Mon-Tue) and the Camp Store

Best for: the signature Sussex County hike. Skip if: 4.5 miles is too long; take the American Holly spur instead.

Cypress Point holds the northernmost natural stand of bald cypress in the eastern United States, described in more detail by the National Park Service. Birdwatchers can spot pileated woodpeckers in the marsh. The trail was renamed from Loblolly for local trails advocate Bob Venables. The loop’s own guide covers it turn by turn.

American Holly Trail

The quick take: a flat, wheelchair-accessible 0.7-mile spur from the nature center to the Bob Trail, through loblolly pine, baldcypress, and American holly, Delaware’s state tree.

  • 0.7 mi spur | crushed stone | park fee
  • Flat and accessible, per TrailLink

Best for: anyone who wants the cypress scenery without the full loop. Skip if: you came for distance.

Trap Pond also draws paddlers; the water trails have their own guide.

Holts Landing State Park: two short bay-side walks

A small park on Indian River Bay near Millville, with parking and restrooms at the Holts Landing Road lot. The trail names trip people up, and even TrailLink mislabels them, so here’s the version that gets it right.

Sea Hawk Trail

The quick take: a hiking-only three-quarter loop through mixed forest, past borrow-pit ponds and an osprey meadow, ending near the bay shoreline.

  • 1.3 mi | packed earth | park fee | no bikes or horses
  • Listed at 1.3 miles, hiking-only by Wikipedia, sourcing destateparks.com

Best for: quiet walking without wheels or hooves. Skip if: you want bay views the whole way; they come at the end.

Seahorse Trail

The quick take: the longer, multi-use loop along the park’s western edge, open to walking, biking, and horses, connecting to the Sea Hawk for an extended outing.

  • 1.8 mi loop | dirt | park fee | rated easy
  • TrailLink lists 1.3 mi, but the destateparks.com-sourced figure of 1.8 miles is the one to use

Best for: extending a Holts Landing visit. Skip if: trail-sharing isn’t your thing.

Delaware Seashore and the Ocean View trails

Three trails on the bay side near Ocean View, all charging the state park vehicle fee.

Prickly Pear Trail

The quick take: a 3.5-mile loop through young forest and open meadows, with Beach Cove views at the north end and changing footing along the way.

  • 3.5 mi loop | crushed stone east, harder sand west | park fee
  • Popular with equestrians and birders | details on TrailLink

Best for: meadows, birds, and bay glimpses. Skip if: hunting season is open; the trail closes for it, so check DNREC dates first.

Fred Hudson Road Trail

The quick take: a 1.6-mile connector that links Ocean View to the Prickly Pear trailhead, mixing an asphalt sidepath with a wooded crushed-stone stretch.

  • 1.6 mi connector | asphalt + crushed stone | state park vehicle fee
  • Horses prohibited south of the Heron Road trailhead, per TrailLink

Best for: reaching Prickly Pear on foot from town. Skip if: you’re after a destination trail; this is a link, not the show.

Assawoman Canal Trail

The quick take: 1.2 miles of crushed stone along a canal hand-dug in 1891, sliding under Route 26 so you never walk a road shoulder.

  • 1.2 mi out-and-back | crushed stone | park fee
  • Parking and restrooms at the south end, per TrailLink

Best for: an easy stroll from the Ocean View neighborhoods. Skip if: you want wild scenery; this one’s half in town.

Delaware Seashore also has a nature trail on Burton’s Island with salt-marsh views, though detailed access information isn’t published.

Redden State Forest: free forest miles

Central Sussex County’s big green block: more than 14,000 acres across 18 tracts.

Access is free, no entrance fee. That alone sets Redden apart from the coastal fee parks.

Redden Headquarters Loop Trail

The quick take: the forest’s one trail with a published length, 4.0 miles of packed earth through hardwood and loblolly pine, with bridges over swamps and meadows.

Best for: free miles and forest quiet. Skip if: it’s a Sunday in hunting season you’re avoiding; good news, Sunday hunting is prohibited on all tracts.

The loop is part of the American Discovery Trail route and marks where that trail crosses the Atlantic/Chesapeake Bay watershed divide. Beyond it, the forest holds 44+ miles of unnamed-length trails; the Delaware Forest Service covers the rules at agriculture.delaware.gov, and a HQ Tract map is on the Avenza Maps app.

Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge: six free trails

The county’s birding destination near Milton, with more than 245 species recorded.

Free, no entrance fee, and dogs are allowed throughout on a short handheld leash. Several walking trails, about 7.5 miles in all, branch from the refuge; USFWS describes them on its trails page.

  • Boardwalk Trail, 0.55 mi loop: 600 feet of freshwater-marsh boardwalk, wheelchair accessible, interpretation panels.
  • Dike Trail, 0.49 mi: hard surface to a wheelchair-accessible observation platform. With the Boardwalk Trail, the accessibility win at Prime Hook.
  • Pine Grove Trail, 0.79 mi loop: pine and hardwood by Turkle and Fleetwood Ponds, with a marsh viewing platform.
  • Black Farm Trail, 1.92 mi out-and-back: wooded uplands beside farmland and marsh.
  • Blue Goose Trail, 1.84 mi: the only one rated moderate; USFWS warns of “arduous hiking over stumps and exposed roots.”
  • Photography Blind Trail, 0.16 mi: leads to an enclosed, first-come photography blind.

Best for: birders, families, accessible walking. Skip if: it’s high summer; USFWS warns of heavy mosquitoes, ticks, and biting flies from June through September.

A note on the numbers: the USFWS page gives slightly different lengths in its text versus its data table; the figures above use the data table consistently. The refuge’s Canoe Trail is a water trail, its eastern portion silted and closed as of 2026; it’s covered in the paddling guide.

The long-distance routes

Two routes stitch the county together.

Georgetown-Lewes Trail

The quick take: an asphalt rail-trail on the old Delaware Coast Line Railroad bed, free, flat, and on its way to becoming Delaware’s longest continuous trail.

  • 11 mi open as of spring 2024; 17 mi when complete, expected by the end of 2026
  • Asphalt | free | dogs welcome | rated easy by Delaware Greenways
  • Monroe Avenue trailhead in Lewes: parking, restrooms, water, bike repair station

Best for: long flat miles without a fee. Skip if: you want quiet woods; this is a shared community trail with 12 road crossings.

The final 6-mile section began construction in February 2025. The trail connects to Junction & Breakwater at Gills Neck Road.

The American Discovery Trail starts here

The quick take: the eastern terminus of the entire 6,800-mile coast-to-coast route is a sign on a WWII bunker at the Cape Henlopen beach.

From there the Delaware segment runs about 45 miles across Sussex and Kent counties into Maryland. It uses the Georgetown-Lewes Trail through Lewes, the “first town in the first state,” and crosses the watershed divide in Redden State Forest, mixing bike trails, sidewalks, and rural roads.

The GPX route data is a free download, per discoverytrail.org, and the Delaware ADT guide walks the route leg by leg.

Before you go

Four things change often enough to check every time.

Fees. Delaware State Parks charge a seasonal vehicle entrance fee that varies by residency. Current rates are on the official Delaware State Parks site, and the comparison of all five state parks shows what each one offers. Redden, Prime Hook, the Georgetown-Lewes Trail, and a few Cape Henlopen access points are free.

Dogs. Leashed pets are allowed on most trails, but the details vary.

Rules differ park by park. Check the one you’re visiting, not the one you visited last.

Cape Henlopen’s swimming beaches have seasonal dog restrictions, so check the park’s current rules before bringing a dog to the beach sections. The dog-friendly trails and beaches guide compiles the rules park by park.

Hunting dates. The Prickly Pear Trail closes for hunting season, and hunting happens in Redden State Forest outside Sundays. Check DNREC dates in fall and winter.

Seasons. Timing is half the reward here.

The shoulder seasons are when this county is at its best.

Snow geese gather at Prime Hook from late fall into spring, wintering waterfowl fill Gordons Pond, horseshoe crabs come ashore in spring, and Prime Hook’s bugs peak from June through September.

Restrooms are at the Cape Henlopen nature center, the Wolfe Neck Road and Lewes Library trailheads, the Trap Pond nature center (closed Mon-Tue), the Monroe Avenue trailhead, Holts Landing, and the Prime Hook visitor center.

Frequently asked questions

Do you have to pay to hike in Sussex County, Delaware?

The five state parks charge a seasonal vehicle entrance fee. Redden State Forest, Prime Hook refuge, and the Georgetown-Lewes Trail are free, and several Cape Henlopen access points sit outside the fee area. Check the official Delaware State Parks site for current rates.

Are dogs allowed on Sussex County trails?

Yes on most trails, on a leash, but rules differ by park. Dogs are explicitly welcome on Junction & Breakwater and the Georgetown-Lewes Trail, and allowed on a short handheld leash throughout Prime Hook. Cape Henlopen’s swimming beaches have seasonal dog restrictions.

What is the longest trail in Sussex County?

The Georgetown-Lewes Trail has 11 paved miles open, and it’ll be Delaware’s longest continuous trail at 17 miles when complete, expected by the end of 2026. The American Discovery Trail covers about 45 miles in the county, but on a mix of trails, sidewalks, and roads.

Which trails are wheelchair or stroller accessible?

Prime Hook’s Dike and Boardwalk Trails are designated wheelchair accessible. The American Holly Trail, the paved Cape Henlopen Bike Loop, and the Georgetown-Lewes Trail are flat and stroller-friendly.

Where can you see the bald cypress trees in Delaware?

The Bob Trail at Trap Pond State Park reaches Cypress Point, home to the northernmost natural stand of bald cypress in the eastern United States. The American Holly Trail is the shorter way in from the Baldcypress Nature Center.

Are there hiking-only trails?

The Sea Hawk Trail at Holts Landing is hiking-only, no bikes or horses. Most others are multi-use, with equestrian limits on parts of the Bob Trail, Fred Hudson Road, and the Prickly Pear loop.

Photos: Andrew Parlette (CC BY 2.0) and Famartin (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

Plan by season and interest: birding by season, snow geese at Prime Hook, horseshoe crab spawning, hunting seasons and trail safety, the county outdoors in fall and winter, and rainy-day alternatives near the beach towns.

Last verified: 2026-06.