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Review of Camping at Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes, Delaware

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.

rvs in a line with trees at Cape Henlopen State Park Campground

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!

Image of the campers and campsites at the Cape Henlopen State Park campground

Review of Camping at the Delaware Seashore State Park, Rehoboth DE

We decided on Delaware Seashore State Park as the next destination on our first shakedown trip in our RV. After visiting Lums Pond, we wanted to not only extend our trip a little but also visit the Delaware beaches. So, we headed to Delaware Seashore State Park as our next destination. Here’s our take on the highlights of the park!

Review of Camping at the Delaware Seashore State Park, Rehoboth DE

Indian River Inlet Bridge in Rehoboth Beach Delaware

The Campground at Delaware Seashore State Park is ideally located right on the water with a path to walk out to the beach at the park. Delaware Seashore State Park Campground is in Rehoboth Beach, and close to Lewes, Dewey Beach, Fenwick, and Ocean City.

Getting To Delaware Seashore State Park

It was about an hour and a half drive to Delaware Seashore Park on the way from Lums Pond. We wanted to make a few stops on the way, namely a Target to pick up some more storage bins, and also a trip to the grocery store. During the trip, we were having some issues with our GPS – which is a known issue in the Thor Gemini, which we now have a fix for and will document on this site at some point – but it prevented us from successfully finding the Target! Walkway from the Campground to the Beach, Heading back to the Campground

We picked up groceries at the Acme in Lewes and then decided to drive past our campground and around Rehobeth, Fenwick, and Ocean City to get our bearings. We’ll share more about those trips down below!

Things to Know about Camping at the Delaware Seashore State Park

The campground is actually two separate areas on either side of the Inlet, ( North Inlet and South Inlet) so it’s very important to know which side you’re going to be on since it’s no fun to have to cross the bridge unnecessarily to turn around. The entrance is also a little bit tricky from what we remember, you have to turn right then follow an access road, and be sure to pick the correct land for RV, since there is also a lane for just general beach access)

Off Season Camping at Delaware Seashore State Park

We were there in the off-season of March 2021, so there was no sewer available. It also made the park pretty open, but there were still a fair amount of campers. If it had been during the prime summer season, it’s not hard to envision how packed in the campers would be. Despite being a state park, and close to the beach, Delaware Seashore State Park, isn’t our favorite type of camping because it lacks a little bit of the things we love about camping – namely privacy, and feeling close to nature. It’s basically a parking lot. There is no landscaping between sites, and the entire place is paved. The inlet itself is pretty, but watching the water current is also a little intense! There’s a reason the Indian River Lifesaving Station was erected there over 100 years ago. The current just rips through the inlet, and boats from the nearby Indian River Marina the Coast Guard boats that leave from the station there have to fight the strong current coming in and out of there. We were also there during extremely windy weather, and without other campers or any barriers like trees bushes and other buildings, the wind gusts were constant and hit us hard. In the summer it seems like the park would be exposed to the elements like sun and heat, making the power hookup (and the resulting access to air conditioning) a key component of the place.

Things To Do Near the Delaware Seashore State Park

Dunes and the Lovely Beach near Delaware Seashore State Park

We’ll have to go into far greater detail at some point about all the things there are to do in the Delaware Seashore Area. There are so many restaurants and activities to enjoy in the surrounding areas including Rebobeth, Dewey, Fenwick, and Ocean City. On our trip, since it was still towards the time when things were shut down for Covid we simply walked around the Bethany Beach area, checking out shops and restaurants along the boardwalk that we’d love to come back to. Dining is always a big part of our adventures so some of the spots we ate make up the biggest part of our things to do!

Places to Eat near Delaware Seashore State Park

Ultimately, for dinner, we ended up down the road Matt’s Fish Camp at the Bethany Beach location. Matt’s Fish Camp has been a favorite of ours since we first visited a few years ago at the Lewes location. We love it because as originally New Englanders, we are always in search of New England-style seafood when we aren’t able to be in our hometowns! Matt’s Fish Camp gets it, they have delicious lobster, great onion rings, clams, and more. Because of Covid, we decide to place an order for take-out. It was fun to be able to just pull up, get our order, and eat in the RV in the parking lot. We usually try to drive to a scenic spot to eat, but the food smell was too tempting! We had and would highly recommend the Lobster Deviled Eggs, crab cakes, and fried clams.

Views of Matt’s Fish Camp Bethany Beach

The next day, we decided to drive the RV into Dewey to get a break from all the wind at the campsite. Thanks to our smaller size, we were able to find on-street parking and we walked to Dewey Beer Company. Dewey Beer quickly became a new favorite when we discovered their amazing sour beer – Secret Machine. Amazing flavors like marshmallow, tangerine, oreo, and raspberry get combined into a sour beer that tastes like a smoothie! The food was delicious as well – we had the hamburgers. Sitting at the bar tables that face the street and are open to the air felt safe during Covid.

Lunch at Dewey Beer Company and Sample Sizes of Secret Machine Fruited Sours

We spent another windy night at Delaware Seashore State Park before heading home! Our next adventures included New England, South Carolina, and Florida before we returned to Delaware, but if you want more info on Delaware Camping, stay tuned for our next Delaware camping post where we will detail our visit to Cape Henlopen State Park, and we also went back to where it all began – Lums Pond!

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Review of Camping at Lums Pond State Park

We chose Lums Pond State Park in Bear, Delaware as our destination for our maiden voyage; the trip that was to serve as our “shakedown trip” of our new RV, a 2021 Thor Gemini 23 TW. Lums Pond ended up being a wonderful spot for our first camping trip for several reasons. Firstly, since it’s 2-3 hours away from our primary residence, it gave us enough distance to impart that truly away-from-home feeling. In other words, we felt it qualified as an adventure, but was still close enough to be close to home should any major issues occur. It was also the ideal spot to really experience the pleasures of nature while being close enough to amenities to make us feel secure.

Early Spring Camping in Delaware

A bit of early warm spring weather also helped us decide to get out of the house. Since we arrived at the campground in March, some of the campground amenities weren’t fully available, but it still gave us the opportunity to test out our camping setup quite well. Lums Pond is a large park with several distinct areas for recreation and a separate campground. There were several hiking trails that can be accessed from the campground itself, along with a larger portion of the park across the pond from the campground that is either a short drive or bike trip, with trails, sports fields, a disc golf course, horseback riding areas, and Go Ape a zipline and climbing park. We loved this campground for its welcoming feel from camp hosts and other campers, the wide campsites, open park layout, close restroom facilities, miles of hiking trails, plus beautiful views of the pond.

Getting to Lums Pond

We made a few quick stops on our trip to Bear, Delaware from our home base in Lancaster County. We intentionally took a route that took us through North East and Havre De Grace, Maryland. It was a great mix of back roads and highway travel to give us a sense of the way the motorhome would handle this terrain. All the things we packed were mostly secure, although there were a few rattles from our belongings that we have since solved. That drive truly gave us some insight into the shakedown aspect of driving an RV. While we didn’t encounter any really low bridges, the twists and turns and few bridges route along the country road to North East certainly reminded us that it’s always a good idea to make sure your route does have clearance.

Stopping in North East was our first-time parallel parking our RV in a town setting, and it fit the spaces along the main street in North East perfectly. Because of the weather (and during the time of still in-place Covid restrictions), we decided to enjoy a lunch at Woody’s Crab House before driving the rest of the way to Bear, Delaware. We also made a stop in Lewes, Delaware for some groceries, since we hadn’t packed too many groceries from home. One of the nice things about having an RV is being able to put groceries away in the fridge right after you buy them! We then headed to Lums Pond.

Lums Pond Campground Amenities and Features

The Campground Entrance is separate from the entrance to the part of the state park that houses the sports fields and other main attractions of the park. Since we were arriving early in the season, it was self-service check-in with just a quick visit to the host. The campground itself is a wide-open space with large campsites. It has the feeling of a welcoming town park, with just enough landscaping and trees to make each site stand out. While the site we ended up getting was pretty level, we drove by one of the sites we had been considering, and saw that it –and others near it– were at quite an angle, and would require many more leveling blocks than we had with us! Now that we’ve camped 20+ places, we can safely say that we’ve never seen quite such a steep spot anywhere else! We ended up in another spot ( I have forgotten to record the exact number, but I think it was site 34, with a large level paved site with some stone dust surrounding the edge, and quick access to both the restrooms and a short walk to the hiking trail. It also offered a slight view of the pond through the trees. The site was full hookup, which was great for convenience and having the chance to test our set up, and there was a dump station available. We ended the day by taking a walk to the campground side of the pond and around some of the trails there, before getting settled for the night. The camp store was closed and out of firewood that night, but there was a great-sized firepit on our site, which we would have used. The next day we moved across to site 35.

Things to Do Near Lums Pond

The next day was sunny and warm, so we decided to head toward Chesapeake City to visit Schaeffer’s Canal House for lunch. It was a good chance to see how our RV handles small spots and parking lots. With bikes in our future plans, we also wanted to check out the bike trail that runs next to the C&D canal. After a great lunch outside, with good service, a cobb salad that helped us stick to our loosely-followed keto diet we were trying at this time. We didn’t cross the bridge into Chesapeake City – because we’ve visited before and we wanted to get back to explore Lums Pond a little more.

The Park

On our way back, we drove to the official Lums Pond State Park entrance. We were impressed by the expansive spaces for picnicking, family gatherings, sports, and other outdoor recreational activities. My husband enjoyed playing a few holes of disc golf at their facility, and I wished I had time to do some of the horseback riding available there!

We recommend Lums Pond Campground and would love to return in the season to do some of these activities like horseback riding, the Go Ape park, and –now that we have e-bikes –we’d love to be able to ride the trails. If you don’t have an RV, they also offer campsites for tents and yurt camping which looked pretty cool!

The Location Details

If you’d like to camp at Lums Pond too, you’ll want to make reservations through the website at Delaware State Parks.

Lums Pond State Park (Campground Entrance)

3488-3598 Red Lion Rd, Bear, DE 19701

Up next, we drove through Bethany Beach and headed to Delaware Seashore State Park for our next camping reservation!

Review of the Thor Gemini 23TW

In this post, we’ll review why we picked the Thor Gemini 23TW AWD, also known as the Compass in some markets, as the RV for us.

Why We Picked the Thor Gemini 23 TW

Our search for the perfect RV started several years ago when we realized an RV might be the perfect complement to our life of spontaneous travel. With relatives up and down the East Coast, and a desire to enjoy New England in the summer, and the Southern US in the winter, we casually started looking at RVs in 2015, but didn’t commit to purchasing anything.

Then a combination of early retirement, working from home, a desire to visit family members who are aging and had a few health issues, and a lack of easy travel options during COVID, plus the release of the Ford Transit ECO Boost chassis were a few things that moved us along and made 2021 the year to purchase our RV. We ended up with the Thor Gemini 23TW AWD. Here are some of the reasons we picked this powerful little RV.

Class B+ is For Us!

We knew we wanted a small, easy-to-drive, easy to park – go -anywhere motor home. We didn’t have a wish to tow, or the desire to purchase a new towing vehicle. We wanted something that would be like a B Class but would have the space of a C. We looked at a few used C-class RVs and although we liked the space we quickly, realized that even 27 feet would be too large to fit our easy-to-park requirements. Thanks to YouTube we were able to watch walkthroughs of other RVs like the Winnebago Ekko, Navion, and finally the Gemini/ Compass models from Thor. We also soon learned about the drivability, safety, and fuel-efficient benefits of the new 2020 Ford Transit Chassis, which helped us narrow our search even more to Class B+/C RVs built on that chassis. We also wanted a modern, bright interior, and were pleased to see that a few brands were offering this for 2020 models and beyond.

Researching Our Options

Since we have many RV dealers near us we were able to see a few in person. We loved the Leisure Vans Wonder Rear Lounge model, but with a 2-year wait time until delivery, it didn’t fit in our plans to start to travel by RV in the Spring of 2021. Through the detailed views on YouTube from both Matt’s RV reviews for General RV Dealerships and the Thor Manufacturer, we were able to get a pretty good sense of the layout of the TW23 as well as the space. A light, bright interior option. We loved the Estate Gray package, which featured soft pale cream gray cabinetry and black hardware, neutral gray floors, and countertops – a perfect combination of modern farmhouse and classic white kitchen we wanted in our own home.

We were able to see these finishes in person at a local dealer who had taken delivery of a Compass, which is exactly the same as the Gemini, it’s just a brand name change they make to allow sales in different dealer markets. Even though it was the alternate floor plan — the Compass TE — we were able to get a good sense of the general space and finish. Pleased with our in-person walk-through, we felt like the TW was for us!

Finding the Right RV Dealer

Unfortunately, we had terrible customer service at that dealer which was only 45 minutes from our house in Pennsylvania. We couldn’t get the most basic questions answered about finish choices and they seemed disinterested in taking our order. It’s certainly not the experience you want when you’re planning to make an investment like this.

This site is not sponsored by them, but our conversations with General RV were vastly more helpful and informative, and we felt much more confident placing our order with them because of their knowledge. Also because of their inventory, we lucked out and were able to place an order in February 2021 for March 2021 delivery. Even though our nearest General RV was over 5 hours away, the fact they have national locations, and that they were opening a new location in 2022 only 30 minutes from our house, made General RV the dealer for us.

Taking Delivery of the RV

We waited a few short weeks and purchased and prepared some of our RV must-haves and then prepared to drive to Ohio to pick up our new RV. We’ll detail the pre-purchase check and walkthrough in a post soon since we know how important it is to have a checklist of items you’ll want to review before taking delivery!

Through the pre-purchase check and walkthrough, we found that the Gemini was immediately what we expected in terms of interior details, storage, and amenities. There were a few minor things like finding a home for some of our belongings and figuring out the best place to store things.

What We Love About the Gemini TW

We will be sharing more detailed reviews of each aspect but here are a few of the highlights and things we love!

The Ford Transit Chassis

The Ford Transit Chassis is one of our favorite things about the RV. It’s easy to drive and does handle like a car. The seats are extremely comfortable, it has amazing visibility and the cab storage compartments, cup holders, and caddies are very well thought out. We haven’t had a chance to really use the limits of the AWD, but it’s so nice to know we have it as we travel through different weather conditions. We love the gas mileage that the Ford Transit provides. We find we get a average of 13 to 15MPG depending on the driving conditions and how much we’re carrying.

The Bed

Many people choose to buy a new mattress, but we actually found the mattress that came with the RV has been fine for now. We added a thin topper and it had been comfortable. One of the things we love is that the bed folds up with all of the bedding intact so it is just a matter of releasing it from the storage position and the bed is ready to go. One of the storage tricks we learned is that items like sheets and towels can also be stored within the spaces between the slats.

The Closet and Storage Space

We have spent as long as a month at a time in different weather conditions in the RV and have found that the closet provides more than ample storage for all of our clothing. Some Gemini owners have made modifications, but we simply use thin hangers and some cloth-covered boxes for bulky items like sweaters and jeans. We’ll share with you which bins we like for this space and how we organized our closet in a later post.

The Fridge

We are also impressed by the storage space in the fridge and freezer. We tend to pack it fully, even when we don’t require tons of food storage, because we find it helps to reduce movement while we travel, and a stuffed fridge helps to keep things insulated and cold. It has been great to be able to have plenty of room for fresh food, storing leftovers, and having some space for frozen food as well.

Separate Shower

Having a dedicated shower (as opposed to a wet-/dry bathroom) was one of the requirements! We did switch out the shower head and had to learn a few tricks for using the on-demand water heater, but once we did, it has been great to be able to shower on the go!

Our Travels

So far we have visited Ohio, Lums Pond in Delaware, Codorus State Park in Pennsylvania, Huntington Beach in Myrtle Beach, Seacoast New Hampshire, and Boothbay Harbor and Portland, Maine, with travels to Hilton Head, Destin, The Florida Keys, and Jekyll Island planned for 2022! Stay tuned for more details and reviews of campgrounds as we go.

Shop Our RV Essentials

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These are some of the camping equipment and must have products we use in our Thor Gemini for storage, decor, cleaning, and maintenance.

Currently Traveling

Since the beginning of 2021, Currently Traveling has been on the roads and waters collecting up-to-date content. We will bring you sailboat and RV tips and reviews, plus local guides for some of our favorite things to do, and places to eat in the locations we visit.

We will soon bring you helpful information and recommendations for your travels.

Stay tuned

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