Cape Henlopen, Delaware

We don't have a specific mission to visit every state as we travel, but occasionally we take stock of which we've seen and which are still unexplored nuggets to be discovered. Of course, there are many, many places in most of the states that we have not yet discovered, so there's still many opportunities to visit again.

This week our travels brought us to Delaware, the 2nd smallest state in the union. Delaware was first to ratify the US constitution, so it calls itself "The First State". Before that, it was settled by the Dutch, and was part of William Penn's territory of Pennsylvania. During the civil war, Delaware was a slave state, although it never seceded from the union. The governor at the time said Delaware was the first state to join the union, and would be the last to leave.

During world war 2, the Army determined that protecting the mouth of the Delaware River, the gateway to industrial Philadelphia and Wilmington, was an important mission. They built the largest fortification in the US on the Delaware side of the river, on a sandy point called Cape Henlopen. This area was called Fort Miles, and included guns designed to sink ships, up to 20 miles away. After the war, and as such weapons were obsoleted by missles, most of the fort was acquired by the State and turned into a state park.

Our experience is that this is one of the best state parks we have visited. While they don't have the best camping facilities (no electric or sewer hookups) they clearly have a pride in the operation that shows through the presentation of the park, a concern for preserving the history, and great trails for walking or bikes.

One thing we saw that was highly unusual was the albino deer we saw cavorting with the rest of the herd on the Frisbee field when we arrived. It is quite striking to see a white deer.

Their beach is excellent, reasonably accessible even though the park encompasses the largest sand dune between Cape Cod and the Outer Banks of NC. They support surf fishing and provide several crossovers for fishermen in trucks to reach the beach. The swimming area has a large bath house and parking lots.

Fort Miles retains some of the original barracks and other buildings because they were built from block rather than wood. There is an active reenactment group that presents recreations of wartime life in the fort, and some of the armaments are being restored to their appearance in the 1940's. While there are remnants of the fort, such as concrete foundations, scattered throughout the park, the most impressive structures that remain are the 9 observation towers that served as viewing and triangulation points to help aim the guns.

The great dune, nearly 100 feet above the ocean, was actually created by the Army to house a large gun placement. From the top of the trail, a great view of the ocean is provided. On the bay side of the park, the original WWII pier reaches out into the ocean for hundreds of feet, even though the far end is under reconstruction. Dozens of people fished there over the weekend, though all they were catching was a tan.

The campground differs from any others we've seen in that the RV parking is at the each edge of wide paved roads. Since the base of the parks is mostly sand, paving long strips of roadway provides a secure footing for the vehicles that come here, and preserved the pine forest in between the roads. Vehicle parking is therefore parallel to the road. Since the park was virtually empty when we arrived, we didn't have the extraordinary experience of needing to parallel park out 38' motorhome. The sites in the tenting area are scattered through the trees around the edge of the paved area, and appeared to be very nice.

The park also supports various activities to educate the public in environmental issues. The weekend we visited included Earth Day, and there were a number of presentations and walks that highlighted the natural elements of the park. On Saturday, hundreds of people played Frisbee games in the large field designated for that purpose. A nature center features aquariums of local fish, presentations on the nature of a sandy ocean interface, and the loaned out bikes for people to enjoy the trails. One very large building housed the University of Delaware Marine/Air laboratory, and one portion of the park contains the longest running acid rain measurement facility in the country.

We can highly recommend this park for RVers that want to stay in a place that gets you close to nature along the Atlantic Ocean.