Today’s post details our travels to Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes, Delaware. We’ll share the amenities the park has to offer, as well as some of the things we did in the town of Lewes, and some of the benefits and drawbacks of camping at Cape Henlopen.
Review of Camping at Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes, Delaware
We’ve been trying to write posts in sequential order of our travels, but we are making an exception for Cape Henlopen. We traveled to two other state parks in Delaware in the Spring of 2021 for our shakedown trip, and then ventured to Cape Henlopen State Park in the summer of 2022. Since we’re on the theme of Delaware camping and we just made this visit, we thought we should write about our Cape Henlopen experience while it was still fresh in our minds! We’re still catching up on posts we need to write about Delaware, in addition to our adventures in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Georgia, The Florida Keys, and Maine.
Getting To Lewes, Delaware
We had traveled to Lewes, Delaware for a wedding in 2015, and had driven through the area on our camping trip to Delaware Seashore State Park in Rehobeth and on trips to Dewey Beach, so the travel into Lewes was something we had experienced before. From Pennsylvania, we took Route 30 to 41 and onto Route 1 in Delaware. Cape Henlopen is just a few miles off of Route 1 in Lewes, making it very accessible. It’s also located very close to the Cape May Ferry Terminal, so if you’re coming to town that way, you’ll be close by! There weren’t any issues like low bridges or tight turns on the way that we felt we needed to be aware of as RVers.
Cape Henlopen Park Attributes and Amenities
Cape Henlopen offers a location near the charming town of Lewes, as well as a spot that is near the beaches on both the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Dewey Beach, Rehobeth Beach, and Ocean City are also close by.
The Park itself is large with many paths that lead to the many historical sites, beaches, and educational centers that are housed within the park. There is the Fort Miles Historic Area, which was a defense station in World War II. There is also a Nature Center, a Fishing Pier, and a place to rent bikes to explore the park. There’s an office building at the entrance where RV visitors check-in.
We had no problem parking, but it is a small area. From there, you will proceed through the gatehouse with your RV camping pass. The sites, campground roads, and map were clearly marked and we had no trouble getting to our site.
The Campground at Cape Henlopen
The Campground at Cape Henlopen has well-kept sites but does have spots that are closer together than some of the state parks we’ve visited.
Cape Henlopen is definitely more of a parking lot-style campground; by that we mean there’s minimal privacy landscaping between sites, the spots are fairly close together, and you can easily see all of the campsites near you.
It’s also a very family-centric campground, so there’s lots of activity with kids riding bikes, playing games in the roads, and running in and around the facilities and playgrounds. While that’s usually not a deal breaker for us or undesirable, Cape Henlopen was probably 85% families the week we visited, and it definitely dominates the feeling of the campground.
The bustling an social nature of Cape Henlopen in season is great for families who want kids to have that social camping experience. It also feels very safe because of all of the families present, it also was not as quiet and relaxing as many state parks. And, because of the paved nature of the park and sites, it doesn’t give that feeling of being peacefully surrounded by nature like some of the more secluded spots we’ve encountered in other parks, it feels more like an RV resort where space is at a premium.
Review of Cape Henlopen Campground Amenities
Like so many campgrounds this year, spaces and reservations for Cape Henlopen are hard to come by, but we were able to find a spot because we booked a few months ahead of time.
We were fortunate to get a pull-through spot, which is a bit of overkill for us because we are a 23-foot motor home, but it was nice to have the space. We had site C 19, which is very large but not level, it took all of our levelers to put the front tires up so that we weren’t heading too much downhill.
The parking pad was freshly paved and the rest site was edged with sand, a few trees, pine trees and needles, and some brush, which gave it some other nice areas to set up our chairs and to enjoy the fire pit.
There was something about the pull-through spot and our smaller camper also made it a magnet for kids to ride their bikes through, which was a bit of a privacy and safety issue because kids would whizz by while we were opening our doors. Again, as campers who go seeking solitude, the busy nature of the park was one of the reasons we wouldn’t be rushing to go back to Cape Henlopen until the off-season.
The campground bathrooms were also a big drawback and in disappointing shape. We use our own bathroom in the RV most of the time when there’s a hookup available, but since there’s no sewer hookup at these sites, only a dump station, it’s nice to have the option of a real shower and toilet when you don’t want to have to depart the site to dump full tanks.
Unfortunately, because of the beach location, the bathrooms have gritty and sandy floors that are constantly wet. They have individual showers and toilets, which are usually a huge luxury, but the private shower rooms and toilets are not well-ventilated or cool, and are pretty sparse, and uninviting. The shower also has poor pressure and temperature control. The shower head is next to the wall, making it nearly impossible to stand under it. If you’re used to roughing it, it’s not an issue, since any shower is welcomed, but if you’re looking for a good shower this isn’t it.
Despite all of this, the showers are still very busy with beachgoers rinsing off and a necessity for larger families and tent campers. Additionally, groups of kids were using the bathrooms as their own personal spaces for games of hide and seek, which again made the whole restroom situation a little frustrating.
Another drawback to the campground was that the trash dumpsters were also a bit of a walk and located only at the exit near the dump station in the campground. It’s an easy drive if you have a separate vehicle, but a little bit of a walk with your bags if you have only your RV for transportation.
Biking Near Cape Henlopen, Delaware
While the busy atmosphere was one of the reasons why a return trip to Cape Henlopen isn’t high on our list during the summer, it would certainly be a spot we’d visit again in the quieter times of the year.
One of the biggest reasons we would return is for the bike trails that go through the park. Gordon’s Pond Trail was beautifully level and perfectly maintained. We also enjoyed the proximity of the campground to the quaint town of Lewes. We took the bike paths not only to downtown Lewes, out to the Junction Breakwater trail and also saw the start of the Georgetown trail, which we’d like to explore further.
Bike Trails had clear paths, but they aren’t always well-marked in terms of where certain trails connect and what elements and attributes will be found along your journey.
Specifically, we were a little confused about which way to go trying to pick up the Cape Henlopen paths from the Breakwater trails. There are a few places where the trail is under construction, and also spaces where the trail blends with the main roads in Rehobeth and Dewey Beaches, but with Google Maps and a bit of instinct, we were able to find our way.
When you are on the dedicated bike trails, however, it’s clear that Delaware certainly knows what it’s doing with creating and maintaining walking and bike paths, and it was one of our favorite benefits and activities of being based at Cape Henlopen.
Getting to The Beach at Cape Henlopen
Another reason we like Cape Henlopen is for the options of the beaches. However, it’s not one of those campgrounds where you are right on the beach. In fact, we had a lot of trouble trying to find exactly where the beach areas were! When did finally find signage within the campground directing you to the beaches it still wasn’t very clear, so it took us a long time to figure out where the beaches and entrances near us actually were. We searched for a while on our bikes to find the water views, and we found other visitors doing the same.
There are a few access points within the park to beaches, but we believe the closest one for the campground was near the Fort Miles area. The entrances to the beaches are about a 8- 10 minute walk from the campground and the paths down to the beach are mostly very deep dunes to traverse until you get to the beach.
Just something to be aware of, since it makes it difficult to bring chairs, beach wagons, coolers, and other beach essentials if you are walking or biking. Most beach accesses have either parking or at least drop-off points making it a little easier to bring your beach essentials if you are able to take a car.
Things To See and Do Near Cape Henlopen
In addition to the beach and biking, we used this location as a jumping-off point to be able to travel to a number of places on our e-bikes. We enjoyed going to the Saturday Farmers’ Market in Lewes and getting to visit some of the restaurants in Downtown Lewes, as well as being able to visit friends who had a slip at the marina in the center of downtown. It was also a great spot to be able to ride our bikes to Dewey Beach and Rehoboth. We also took our RV and ventured out to dining spots like Crooked Hammock and Matt’s Fish Camp which are near Route One.
We’ll detail some of those dining adventures in our upcoming post about where to eat in and around Lewes! We wrapped up our trip to Cape Henlopen by heading back to Lums Pond. We’ll update that post with more details about our 2022 visits soon!