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3/31/2012

Lewes Beach and Roosevelt Beach, Delaware

Lewes Beach and Roosevelt Beach Along the Delaware Bay

View of Lewes Beach South to Cape Henlopen

Lewes Beach in Lewes, Delaware (pronounced Lewis), is one of the area's beautiful, family beaches stretching along the Delaware Bay. Its gently sloping shoreline creates two to three foot waves that provide a safe place for children to swim and play. The sandy beach extends south in a crescent shape to Cape Henlopen State Park and north to nearby Roosevelt Beach, which is adjacent to the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal that connects the two cities. At the entrance to the canal, the University of Delaware docks its fleet of ships which includes their newest seagoing research experiment vessel, the R/V Hugh R. Sharp. Lining the canal are numerous docks, boathouses, lovely family homes, and well-known eating and shopping establishments.

View of Lewes Beach North to Roosevelt Beach

Walking along the shoreline from Lewes Beach to Roosevelt Beach, beachcombers find a variety of shells, whelks, conches, horseshoe crab shells, seaweed, minerals, stones, rocks, sea glass, and shipwreck artifacts. Along the way, several jetties designed for small craft launching and for holding the sandy shore in place, jut out into the gentle bay, often accumulating barnacles, starfish, and other water life while providing feeding habitat for small bay fishes.

Entrance to Roosevelt Beach Over the Dunes

Entrance to both bay beaches is an easy walk along designated paths over the dunes or along pathways from parking areas. Lewes Beach has a metered, paved parking lot, and Roosevelt Beach has a free, graveled parking area. Lifeguards are on duty during the summer season at Lewes Beach, but Roosevelt Beach does not have lifeguards. Instead, families watch their children play in the slight surf where sailboats and kayaks launch out into the gentle bay waters.

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3/23/2012

Planting Dune Grass at Dewey Beach, Delaware

Dewey Beach, Delaware

At Dewey Beach, Delaware, Volunteers Planted Beach Grasses on the Replenished Dunes This Week

Dewey Beach is one of the beautiful Atlantic beaches that line Delaware's eastern coast. It is home to a vibrant set of local property owners and renters, a second home for upstate Delawareans and out-of-state owners, a popular vacation spot for families, and most notably, one of the favorite beach scenes for the Washington, D.C., weekend beach crowd.

Dewey Beach has undergone a recent beach replenishment project that has greatly increased the amount of sandy beach available for sunbathers and beachcombers. Replenishing the sand dunes creates a buffer against the damaging waves of hurricane season, protecting the beautiful ocean front homes, condominiums, and hotels that line Dewey Beach. With replenishment comes another task---replanting dune grasses whose roots hold the dunes in place during northeasterners, tropical storms, and hurricanes.

Beach Grass Planting

DNREC, Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, organized beach grass planting teams at Dewey Beach today from 9:00 am until noon. Volunteers planted grasses in the cold, foggy rain, and their continued efforts reaped the reward of a few hours of sunshine, plus loads of good comraderie. These before and after pictures illustrate the end result we'll see as summer progresses. Great job, everyone!

But, there's more bundles of grasses arriving for planting on Delaware's beach dunes!

Summer Beach Grass

Want to get in on the fun and leave the beach a little better place than you found it?

DNREC is sponsoring another beach grass planting at 10:00 am on Friday, March 30, 2012. Volunteers will meet at the east end of Ocean View Parkway (near the Addy Sea Bed & Breakfast) for a short lesson on beach grass planting, a digging tool, and a bundle of rooted grass shoots. Free parking is available for all volunteers. Just email Jennifer.Luoma@state.de.us to let her know you will help plant grasses at Bethany Beach.

Dewey Beach Replenished

The expanded Dewey Beach looking north along the Atlantic Ocean

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3/16/2012

Map of Delaware Bay Beaches

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service produced this excellent map of the Delaware Bay Beaches. In my previous blogs, I've reviewed Woodland Beach, Port Mahon Beach, and Pickering Beach. Upcoming blogs will feature the beaches of Bombay Hook, Kitts Hummock, and Bowers Beach. As we head south along the Delaware side of the bay, I will tell you about the amazing "Delaware Diamonds" found along our beaches and their comparable cousins, the "Cape May Diamonds." Until then, have a very happy St. Patrick's Day and use this map to guide you to Delaware's quiet, secluded natural beaches.

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3/9/2012

Mahon Beach, Delaware

Mahon Beach Is Ideal for Field Trips for Earth Sciences, Biology, and Geology Courses --- Plus Local History, Fishing and Bird Watching!

Entrance Road to Mahon Beach

East of Dover, Delaware, Port Mahon Road extends nearly four miles from Delaware Route 9 toward the remains of an old fish factory and adjacent piers along the western side of the Delaware Bay.

The area is an excellent bird watching area and is near the ponds and marshes of the Little Creek Preserve. Since water sometimes covers the road during heavy rainfalls and high tides, there are some eroded areas that drivers must be careful to avoid.

Boulders Line the Bay Side of Port Mahon Road.

Boulders and large rocks line the bay side of the road, providing protection from washouts and entertainment for the rock hunting set who love to identify all the different kinds of rocks and minerals here that are so easy to access.

Planned field trips for Earth Sciences classes and Geology courses would keep students busy all afternoon identifying the various boulders, and granite enthusiasts might enjoy seeing their granite counter top material in the rough.

Shore Birds Occupy the Old Pier Pillars

One of the nicest things about Mahon Beach is that the road is so close to the water and the water fowl that persons with disabilities and limited walking abilities can observe nature up close from their cars.

One of the disappointing things about this beach is that . . . there is no beach here! There are just a few small coves of sand, covered in stones and cracked shells that the birds have left behind. Bird watchers, however, will enjoy the large variety of shore birds and inland birds present along the bay shore and inland marshes. At the end of the road in the large parking area for the boat docks, there is an osprey nest on top of a tall pole.

Modern Piers Stretch Out Into the Delaware Bay

Several long, modern piers jut out into the Delaware Bay, in sharp contrast to the old, weathered pilings still upright about ten to twenty feet from shore. They remain as a testament to the once busy piers that supplied the area's prominent fish factory.

The local history of Port Mahon and Mahon Beach attracts history buffs and photographers who reconstruct the fallen architecture while people interesting in fishing the bay today set out from three newly constructed boat launches.

Three Boat Launch Docks Are Near the 75 Car Parking Lot

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3/3/2012

Pickering Beach, Delaware

A Quiet Beach Along the Delaware Bay--Pickering Beach

The Approach to Pickering Beach Along Delaware Route 9

Looking for a quick trip to the beach without having to drive to the Atlantic Ocean? Try the beaches along the shore of the Delaware Bay. Last week, I featured Woodland Beach near Smyrna, Delaware. This week I visited Pickering Beach and brought back photos for you.

Pickering Beach is a small beach town about 8 miles southeast of Dover, the capital of Delaware. Travelling along Delaware State Route 1 S to Dover, take Exit 98
to State Route 8 toward Downtown Dover. Follow
Route 8 until you are able to make a slight right onto
State Route 9. After 2.8 miles, turn left onto Pickering
Beach Road, and in 1.8 miles you will see a small village
of beach homes lining the Delaware Bay.

As you approach the central crossroads in Pickering Beach, you will see to the left of center a Delaware Public Beach Access sign indicating the allowed path across the protected dunes to the sandy beach.

Delaware Public Beach Access Across the Dune at Pickering Beach

Every time I walk across a dune and see the expanse of water on the other side, I am awed by the splendor, beauty, and peacefulness. After six years of walking along the Delaware shore, that feeling has never diminished.

Pickering Beach is serene, uncrowded, and beautiful.

Across the Dune at Pickering Beach and Suddenly--The Delaware Bay

View to the Left of the Entrance to Pickering Beach

View to the Right of the Entrance to Pickering Beach

A Multitude of Stones Washed Up on the Beach

Pickering Beach has white sandy beaches and gentle waves that wash up a variety of rocks, minerals, plant life, and sea/bay glass. Rock collectors will enjoy identifying a wide selection of pummeled stones, and beachcombers will find something new on the beach every time they visit.

To learn more about another Delaware Bay beach, read about Woodland Beach near Smyrna, Delaware: www.norenemoskalski.com/norenes-environmental-blog.html

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