The only coast-to-coast trail in America starts on this wild Delaware cape

Cape Henlopen’s 5,000 acres run wild

You can swim in the Atlantic, fish off a bay pier, bike through pine forests, and walk through a World War II bunker all before lunch.

Cape Henlopen State Park sits at the tip of Delaware’s coast near Lewes, right where the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean collide.

The park spreads across more than 5,000 acres of beaches, maritime forest, tidal salt marsh, and sand dunes, with over six miles of shoreline split between the ocean side and the bay side.

It also happens to be the eastern end of the American Discovery Trail, the only coast-to-coast hiking trail in the country.

William Penn set this land aside in 1682

Back in 1682, William Penn declared that Cape Henlopen and its natural resources belonged to the people of Lewes and Sussex County.

That single decree made this stretch of coast one of the first public lands in what would become the United States. The cape saw military action during the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and both World Wars.

Then in 1964, the Department of Defense declared 543 acres surplus, and Delaware turned it into a state park. More land came back through the 1990s.

Tour a 15,000-square-foot underground bunker at Fort Miles

During World War II, the U.S. Army built Fort Miles right here to guard the Delaware Bay from German ships and submarines.

More than 2,000 soldiers lived at the fort, which had heavy artillery, underwater minefields, and concrete observation towers.

Today you can walk through Battery 519, a 15,000-square-foot underground bunker that now holds the Fort Miles Museum.

Inside, you’ll find wartime artifacts, Civil Air Patrol exhibits, a relic from the U.S.S. Arizona, and artwork soldiers made while stationed here.

Climb Tower 7 for views across two states

Five concrete fire control towers still stand in the park, and you can climb Observation Tower 7 for free. Soldiers once used these towers to spot enemy ships and aim the fort’s heavy guns.

Now you get 360-degree views from the top: the Atlantic to the east, Delaware Bay to the west, sand dunes rolling out below, and the coastline stretching toward Rehoboth Beach.

On clear days, you can see all the way across the bay to Cape May, New Jersey.

The 80-foot Great Dune once galloped inland

The Great Dune rises about 80 feet above sea level, making it the largest sand hill between Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras.

Thousands of years of wind, waves, and currents built it up, and during World War II the Army piled on extra sand to hide a bunker underneath.

They planted grass, trees, and shrubs to hold it all in place. Before that, the dune shifted so steadily inland that locals called it the “Galloping Dune.”

You can see the whole landscape on the Walking Dunes Trail, a 2.5-mile loop through dunes, maritime forest, and salt marsh.

Bike the three-mile trail to Rehoboth Beach

Gordon’s Pond Trail runs about three miles one way, connecting the park near Herring Point to the edge of Rehoboth Beach. The path is paved and flat, so bikers, runners, and families with strollers all share it.

Along the way, you skirt Gordon’s Pond, a big brackish lagoon where ospreys, bald eagles, and shorebirds gather. An elevated boardwalk section lifts you over dunes and wetlands with overlooks for birdwatching.

The trail also links into a larger 15-mile biking loop between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach.

Thousands of horseshoe crabs crawl ashore every May

Every May and June, thousands of horseshoe crabs haul themselves onto the bay-side beaches to spawn during full and new moon high tides.

Delaware Bay ranks as one of the largest horseshoe crab spawning grounds in the world, and the eggs draw massive flocks of migratory shorebirds.

Red knots and sandpipers stop here to feed and fuel up before continuing north. The park also protects endangered piping plovers, least terns, and black skimmers.

Some beach sections close in June and July so nesting birds can raise their young.

Surf Herring Point or watch two waters collide

Two swimming beaches have lifeguards on duty from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and the main ocean-side beach has a modern bathhouse with showers, changing rooms, and a food stand.

Herring Point draws surfers, while The Point gives you a view you won’t find anywhere else along the coast: the spot where bay water and ocean water meet.

The park also provides Mobi-Mat equipment so wheelchair users can roll from the boardwalk onto the sand.

Beach Plum Nature Preserve, a wild stretch within the park, stays mostly off-limits to protect nesting shorebirds and horseshoe crabs.

Fish the bay pier at 2 a.m. if you want to

The fishing pier stretches into Delaware Bay and stays open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Depending on the season, you can pull in flounder, bluefish, croaker, spot, weakfish, and striped bass.

A bait and tackle shop near the pier sells gear, bait, and fishing licenses during the warmer months.

Surf fishing runs strong along the ocean beaches too, and if you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle, you can get a permit to drive right onto the sand. Crabbing and clamming work from the pier and bay shoreline.

Borrow a free bike and pet a stingray

The Seaside Nature Center has a touch tank where you can handle horseshoe crabs, stingrays, and other marine creatures up close.

Five 1,000-gallon exhibit tanks show off local fish and the different habitats around the park. From April through August, a live camera feed lets you watch a nesting pair of ospreys.

The center also runs a free Borrow-a-Bike program through the Friends of Cape Henlopen, with adult bikes, kid bikes, trikes, trailers, and helmets on a first-come basis.

The building itself once served as the prison for Fort Miles.

Play the oldest disc golf course in Delaware

Eight marked trails cut through the park, covering everything from coastal pine forests to salt marshes, with pet-friendly and accessible options mixed in.

The 18-hole disc golf course, the oldest in the state, winds through sandy terrain and stays open year-round.

If you have mobility challenges, the park loans out Action Trackchairs, motorized all-terrain wheelchairs that handle trails and events.

You can launch kayaks and paddleboards from Bay Beach next to the fishing pier, and the year-round campground has more than 150 sites with water and electric hookups, plus cabins that sleep six.

The lighthouse that fell into the sea on a calm afternoon

A lighthouse went up at Cape Henlopen in the mid-1760s to guide ships into Delaware Bay, making it one of the earliest on the Atlantic Coast.

The 69-foot stone tower sat on top of the Great Dune, but the ocean ate away at the shoreline beneath it for more than 150 years. On April 13, 1926, on a calm spring afternoon, it collapsed into the Atlantic.

Locals collected the fallen stones and built them into fireplaces and walls across the Cape Region, where some still stand today.

Two offshore lighthouses, the Harbor of Refuge Light and the Delaware Breakwater East End Light, are still visible from the park’s bay-side beaches.

Visit Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes, Delaware

You can find Cape Henlopen State Park at 15099 Cape Henlopen Drive in Lewes, Del., right where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic. The park stays open year-round from 8 a.m. to sunset.

In summer, entry costs $10 per day for out-of-state vehicles and $5 for Delaware plates. Spring and fall fees apply on weekends and holidays only.

The Cape May-Lewes Ferry terminal sits about one mile from the park entrance, so you can easily pair your visit with a trip across the bay to New Jersey.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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