New Castle Trails Let Hikers Go for the Green
Published Apr 16, 2004
New Castle County sets the standard for quality of life in so many ways – from sailing, rowing and kayaking, to grand opera, blues and jazz festivals, and a pulsating arts community.
But in this area that features so many attractive qualities, the Delaware Greenways still reign as the crown jewels.
The corridors of open space connect communities and provide hiking, biking and running trails. They are used for recreation, transportation and conservation, too.
The Northern Delaware Greenway connects the northern part of New Castle County to Wilmington and is part of a large network of greenways that runs from Maine to Florida.
“We began our existence as the Rock Manor Park Preservation Council in 1989,” says Tim Plemmons, executive director of Delaware Greenways. “Since that time we have evolved into Delaware Greenways, a statewide nonprofit agency, and completed roughly 57 miles of countywide trails here.”
The project’s success has inspired other plans and policies aimed at creating more desirable communities and landscapes throughout the state.
“We are experiencing a state of unprecedented growth statewide, with more projects ongoing than we’ve ever had,” Plemmons says. “We ultimately envision a statewide system that connects east-west-north-south, with each community and municipality having its own local system.”
With a huge draw to Delaware’s summer beaches each year, the greenways provide a welcome accent for tourists. Many bring their bicycles and may hop onto the trails from the beaches in certain areas.
“The greenways need to complement the beach life in Delaware,” Plemmons says. “They are a means of tying together everything that’s good about the great outdoors. We all need access to nature, and we shouldn’t have to travel very far to do it. I believe that the greenways evoke a sense of a high quality of life and give the area a competitive advantage.”
The waterways of Wilmington and New Castle County, primarily the Delaware River for ship-watching and the Christina River for rowing, provide vibrancy of their own – one that is ever-present. On any given day you might see up to 200 rowers on the Christina.
“You might say the Wilmington Rowing Center represents a revival of sorts,” says John Schoonover, a club member and director of the Diamond State Regatta.
“The last club here was from 1874-1876, and organized rowing disappeared after that until we began again in 1984. We began with eight or 10 members and have grown to 150 men and women since then.”
There are 600 amateur rowing clubs in masters’ competition nationally, primarily in the northeastern U.S. Wilmington Rowing Center plays host each year to the Diamond State Regatta, considered one of the premier events in the country. It takes place at Noxontown Pond on the campus of St. Andrew’s School – incidentally, the place where Dead Poets Society was filmed.
“Our boathouse is on the Riverwalk, and it has been very exciting for us to watch the growth of the area over recent years,” says Schoonover. “You can see most of the length of our rows from the Riverwalk.”
Besides the recreational opportunities that greenways and the waters offer, Wilmington also serves up entertainment of the highest quality. It is home to the Playhouse and The Grand Opera House, a premier center for the performing arts. The rebirth of the waterfront in Wilmington has renewed the energy in Rodney Square and the historical attractions of downtown in general. Special events and festivals take place throughout the city.
The Clifford Brown Jazz Festival is a weeklong event that draws 40,000 people each year. The Riverfront Blues Festival brings in 10-12,000 annually for its two-day event. The Wilmington Independent Film Festival each spring is internationally recognized, and the popular “Art on the Town” program features the work of many local artists in non-gallery settings the first Friday of each month.
“We try to celebrate Wilmington in as many ways as we can,” says Beverly Zimmermann, program manager for the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs. “Given the great location we have regionally and everything we have to offer, the city and the county are hard to beat. From a recreational and entertainment standpoint, I doubt there are many cities of our size that can offer as much – with the level of quality we have.”
Story by Warren Denney
Photo by Antony Boshier
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