Fair Hill NRMA Green Trail

Recently, we went biking on the Green trail in Fair Hill NRMA.

Fair Hill NRMA has several biking trails. Five of them are well maintained and marked with colored blazes on the maps that are put up at the parking areas. Apart from these five colored trails, there are several interconnecting trails. If you want a map for yourself, you can either buy it from the Park Office or order one here.

From Fair Hill NRMA Trail Guide:

Green Trail 5.5 miles - moderate
The Green Trail is comprised of a combination of double-track and single-track trail. The majority of the trail consists of old farm roads and passes by the historic covered bridge. Hiking the Green Trail will require approximately two hours.

Map is shown below:

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Biking in Fairhill NRMA

Fairhill is a wonderful place for biking; and very close to Newark too. We went biking here a few times earlier too. But, this is the first time we had the GPS on us.





Fairhill Natural Resources Management Area (NRMA) is located just off of Rt 273 across DE/MD state line. Parking is not free - Maryland vehicles pay $3 while out-of-state vehicles pay $4. Park maps are available for purchase at the Nature Center on Tawes Dr. Although there is a map available on the website, it is of low resolution and is not useful as a trail map. You can purchase a trail guide with maps online for $6.



We parked in the parking lot on Tawes Dr. A park map is posted near the parking lot. We wanted to get a copy of the map from Nature Center. However, it was closed on that Saturday. A park map was posted near the Nature Center too. We decided to go on the Orange Trail and started off from Nature Center. After biking on Tawes dr we entered Orange trail on the left. The idea was that we get back to the same place when we finish biking on that trail. However, we lost our way after biking about half way! At least for the first half of the trail, it was very well marked with orange blazes along the trail. Although there were a few hills to climb, the climb itself was not very difficult. Luckily though we got on the trail from the 'easy' side. I feel that it would have been a little difficult in the opposite direction. Next time, we will give that a try and write how that felt.



Here is a map of our path with a flag marking the place where we should have taken a right (instead of left) in order to be on the orange trail.





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Biking in Brandywine Creek State Park

This is a trail we biked on a little while ago. I just got around writing about it now. I do not remember a lot about it other than that we had no idea what we were doing!



We took off from the trail head at the parking lot near Thompsons Bridge Rd. Thompsons Bridge rd is just off of Route 100. Park entrance falls just beyond the bridge on Brandywine Creek. Delaware vehicles have to pay $3 for parking while out-of-state vehicles have to pay $5. There is a small office at the entrance. If it is open, you can get a copy of park map. You can also download a pdf file of the map from here.



Among others, we chose to bike on what is a part of northern delaware greenway. If you plan to take the same route, park map might not be very useful. Without a copy of park map we did not realize at that time that the path we took was not really on the map! Overall, our ride was very enjoyable. It was an 8 mile-long loop with a few serious hills to bike up, and down. The trails were not at all marked. May be the trails that are shown on the map are marked; but not this one.



This part of the park has a small picnic area next to Brandywine Creek. We saw a few people with their boats. You cannot rent a boat here though. On the other side of the path we took, there are a few hiking and/or biking trails. With opportunities for biking, hiking, and boating, this place could be a good destination for a day-long picnic.



Here is a map of our path and it's elevation profile.



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Creek Rd Biking

I previously wrote about biking on Creek Rd here and here. This one is a longer version...

Start at the intersection of Lovett Ave and Academy St. There is a parking lot here. If you have a University of Delaware Parking Pass you can park here. If you do not have a parking pass, you can still use the pay-per-use spots (either in the parking lot, or on Academy St). If you are planning a day trip to the university area, consider getting a day-pass from the University of Delaware that can be used to park your vehicle in any of the University parking lots (more details here).

With a lot of parking areas through out the trail, you can start at a different place on this trail. In total, this trail is about 16 miles long. Oh, and one more thing - this is not a marked trail. I don't even know what this trail is called! Print a copy of the map below and you should be able of figure out the path very easily.


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Tri Valley Trail

Another nice day, and we are out in the woods. Middle Run area was the destination this time too.



This trail is a 7 mile long loop starting from Middle Run area parking lot. Unlike several other parking areas in White Clay Creek State Park (WCCSP), this one does not require any parking fee. For the most part of the trip, we were on one of three trails: Tri Valley trail, Whitley Farms Trail and Bryan's Field Trail.



At the trailhead, we took a right turn (towards East) to enter Lenape Cutoff Trail. Lenape Cutoff trail intersects Tri Valley Trail. All these trails are marked very well. After biking for a little while, Tri Valley trail passes through Fox Den rd. Get off the bikes and cross the road carefully to continue on Tri Valley trail. After biking some more, you will see some houses and trail enters that community. Continue on Smithmill rd and go past Papermill rd to reach WCCSP Possum Hill area parking lot. At this point, follow directions for Bryan's Field trail connector to enter Whitley Farms trail. We biked on Whitley farms trail earlier; this time we bike in the opposite direction. Continue on Whitley Farms trail and bike past WCCSP parking area near Thompson Station rd to enter Bryan's Field trail using Whitely Farms trail connector. Continue on Bryan's Field trail and look for Papermilll rd connector. Cross Papermill rd to enter Middle Run area and follow Lenape trail to return to the Middle Run area parking lot. As you can see from the elevation profile picture, there are a couple of uphill climbs - not something very difficult but it is good to keep that in mind. At the parking lot on Smithmill rd, you can take Bryan's Field trail instead of Whitley Farms trail to shorten the loop by about 3 miles. This would skip one of those uphill climbs too.



As I mentioned before, grab a copy of WCCSP map from Ken's website. It is a lot easier to visualize the trail on that map. You can also download a .kml file from the google map shown below that can be used with a GPS device.





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Middle Run Area

A 5.3mi long loop that Sachin and Gajju biked on. It is not one particular biking trail - it is a mix of a few of them. Click on 'Read More' to see a map and elevation profile.





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Bryan's Field Trail and Whitley Farms Trail

With the days getting warmer, I am back to biking. Yesterday, we went mountain biking for the first time this season. We took two trails in White Clay Creek State Park Possum Hill area. Click on 'Read More' to see a trail map and elevation profile of Bryan's Field Trail and Whitley Farms Trail.



Bryan's Field Trail can be accessed from the parking lot of Possum Hill area (Parking is not free from March 1. Delaware vehicles pay $3, whereas out-of-state vehicles pay $5). We first took the Bryan's Field Trail. It is about 2 miles long. There is a shortcut (we did not take it) that comes after a quarter mile into the trail. Bryan's Field Trail is very well marked. In spite of that, we took a wrong turn and ended up at the intersection of Paper Mill Rd and Thompson Station Rd. - hence the off shoot on the trail map!









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After we finished our adventure on the Bryan's Field trail, we decided to bike more. Thus, we came up with another loop starting from the same parking lot and entering into Whitley Farms Trial (Whitley Farms Trail can also be accessed from another parking lot near Thompson Station Rd). This trail (which I am calling Bryans - Whitley trail here) is just over 3.5 miles and a lot more fun than Bryan's Field Trail. Starting at the the Possum Hill area parking lot, we followed Bryan's field trail for a little more than half mile when we took a right on the fork to enter Whitley farms trail. Whitley Farms trail is also very well marked. There are a few of shortcuts that can be taken to get back to the parking lot if you are feeling tired. In less than 0.5 miles after entering Whitely Farms trail from Bryan's Field trail, you come across the parking lot near Thompson Station Rd. About a mile and half later, you would intersect with Tri Valley trail. At this point, a right turn on tri valley trail will lead you to the parking lot. Last shortcut comes about a mile after the intersection with tri valley trail. At this fork, taking a right turn would lead you back to the tri valley trail where you should take a left turn to reach the parking lot. However, this is about 0.2 miles longer than the other option. We chose the shorter version - took a left turn and reached the parking lot to finish the loop.









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Note: Click on 'View Larger Map' to view a larger map in Google Maps. If your computer has Google Earth installed, click on 'View in Google Earth' on the Google Maps page to download a .kml file.


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White Clay Creek State Park Map

Please visit this website to find a neat map of White Clay Creek State Park.

This is an unofficial trail map designed and constantly updated by Ken. You can download a pdf file from that website. It not only shows the trails and their respective mileages, but the map also gives a rough idea of the elevation. Further, this map even lets you choose the information you want to be displayed. This map is a lot better than the official map and is more up to date. Although it is designed with bikers in mind, it is a valuable resource of information for hikers too.
This map is being constantly updated, so pay a visit every once in a while for the most up-to-date version.

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Creek Rd Biking - a variant

Here is a map of Creek Rd trail with some minor modifications. Instead of continuing on the Tweeds Mill Rd., you go over the bridge near Wedgeweood Rd. and bike on the other side of the creek. Immediately after crossing the bridge if you take a left you will be on a trail that runs almost parallel to Tweeds Mill Rd. (shown in map). However, if you decide to go straight after crossing the bridge, you would have climb a hill before you end up in the parking lot of some place on Paper Mill Rd.


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Creek Road Biking

Several trails - short and long - are present close to Newark, DE. This is the first among the few I intend to scribble about.

The trail starts at the junction of E. Main St. and N. College Ave. If you do not have a University of Delaware Parking Pass, you can park your vehicle in the Trabant Parking Garage on the Main St. North College Ave. becomes Creek Rd. White Clay Creek falls on to your right and you would come across cement blocks on the road, which you can cross and go further. At the intersection of Creek Rd. and Wedgewood Rd. you will find a parking lot. Creek Rd. becomes Tweeds Mill Rd. from here. You can continue on the trail along the creek. On the right of the parking lot there is a bridge that goes over the creek. If you cross the bridge, you can continue on a trail that again goes along the creek (this time the creek is on to your left). This trail will end in Hopkins Bridge Rd.

At the intersection of Tweeds Mill Rd. and Hopkins Bridge Rd., there is a White Clay Creek Nature Center. Restrooms are available the Nature Center Parking lot. If the nature center office is open, you can get a park map there. Tweeds Mill Rd. ends at the Nature Center. However, you can continue biking on the trail that starts at the nature center. Trails are marked by a blue line on the trees. On the map, this trail is marked as MD for Mason-Dixon Trail. Although the map shows a pink/blue trail loop, the trail on the right side of the loop is only for hikers. Continuing on the MD trail would lead you to the Pennsylvania White Clay Creek State Park Office at the London tract meeting house. A parking lot is present here and you can get a map of White Clay Creek State Park that falls in Pennsylvania at the park office.

All the way, the trail is flat and wide - no difficult hills to worry about. You can take your comfort/city bikes apart from mountain bikes on it. Other than the nature center at the Hopkins Bridge Rd., there is no place to get water or anything. So, you might want to carry water. Patch kit is not really necessary; but it is a good idea to carry one. With the creek adjacent to the trail almost all along, bugs can be an issue.


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Biking

For fun. For health. For earth.

I used to bike as a kid. I biked a for a couple of years during my college. But it was biking as a means of transportation during those times. After I came to the US to do my PhD, I started biking, again as a means of transportation till I bought a car. Only a few months ago, I discovered the 'fun' part of biking. And that is what all this rant is about.

My wife had an old bike which she was not using; but wanted to start using. This time around, we wanted to use the bike not just for transportation, but also as a recreational tool. Since the old bike was - um - old, we bought a new bike. I wanted to buy one too, but I also wanted to first make sure that I like biking (and I wanted to do some research into what kind of bike I want). So, I got the old bike fixed and decided to use it. One of our friends is a little into mountain biking and he suggested we go biking on a trail. When we were thinking of biking, we mostly had road biking on our minds - never thought of taking the bike into the forest and all. Anyway, on one fine weekend morning my friend, my wife and I went biking on a nearby trail in White Clay Creek State Park. We were so unprepared for the trail, that we did not even have helmets! And my old bike's handle bar was rotating 360 degrees whenever it wanted to!! Nevertheless, we had lots of fun. We did some shopping for helmets and hydration packs and our weekend agenda was pretty much set for the season - biking!

A month or so after we went on our first biking trip, my wife gifted me a new Cannondale F7 Disc mountain bike. It is an awesome set of wheels and I love it. I did some research into bike buying before I decided on the Cannondale. Several websites got me started with the types of bikes that are available. A mountain biking book borrowed from the local library helped me understand the parts of the bike - how they look; how they work and what I should look for. The best part about bikes is that all the parts are visible to the naked eye and if you spend a little time with the bike it is very easy to understand how they work. Most of all, I bugged my local bike shop people - they were very helpful in explaining me the differences in the bikes which are priced differently. If you are planning to buy a bike too then my suggestion is to go grab some biking book from your local library (preferably the one with a lot of pictures) and do some reading. One of the websites I came across that helped me a lot is Jim Langely's Website. Paying a visit to the bicycle manufacturers website is also a good idea. Performance Bike and Price Point are two online stores where I found good deals on several parts/accessories. Performance Bicycle has stores across USA. If your town happens to have one then you should check it out. You can always buy a bike online and get it shipped to the store. You would need a few accessories almost immediately after you buy a bike. A helmet is must if you intend to ride on trails. Almost all bike stores carry small bags/pouches that can be tied under the seat. I find them useful to put my keys, wallet and cellphone. If you do not have a hydration backpack, then a bottle cage and water bottle are important. If you are serious about biking, then you should consider buying a backpack with a hydration bag. It doubles up as a carrier for your other personal stuff and simple biking tools. Biking tools that one might want to carry include a patch kit and/or extra tube; a bike tool kit and a bike pump. These are the accessories that I use most and feel that fall into 'required' category. A quick look at any bike shop will reveal a host of other tools/accessories. Depending on your need, use and/or budget you can go for other accessories.

I can continue the rant; but the single most important point is to 'use the bike'. The more I bike, more I am learning about it. So, if you are even remotely interested in biking you should give it a try.
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