Paddling Around Eastern Neck Island: A Water Trail for (Almost) All Seasons
By Dotty Holcomb Doherty
Photography by Michael Land
There’s a sense of satisfaction you get from paddling the circumference of an island, a sense of accomplishment. Add a healthy dose of eagle sightings, a butterfly garden bursting with color, and marshes just begging for exploration and you’ve got the makings of a great day on the water. Plus no shuttling: when you finish this circular trail, your car will be waiting for you.
Getting Started
Great blue herons emerge from the early morning fog as you drive over the wooden bridge, dark silhouettes against gray water and sky. Crossing Eastern Neck Narrows from nearby Rock Hall you enter the island. Continue for 1.5 miles, following the sign for Bogle’s Wharf Landing, where a 1,000-foot wharf welcomed steamboats at the turn of the last century.
The Eastern Neck Island Water Trail begins here, where a wide parking lot and easy water access make for an ideal launch. The recently established trail, a collaboration among the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Friends of Eastern Neck, Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network, National Aquarium in Baltimore, and Maryland Department of Natural Resources, takes paddlers around the pristine border of Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge on the Chester River and Chesapeake Bay.
Early morning here is idyllic. Join the dawn fishers as you launch into the Chester River, into glassy water mirroring the shoreline’s trees. Gulls wheel and cry overhead as you head north toward the first of 20 markers, six of which currently have interpretative signs.
No matter what season you choose to paddle this trail in, birds will be your constant companions. The fishing is good here and the birds know it. Ospreys return each March from their winter in South America to join resident bald eagles. Other birds with varied appetites also find hearty fare, with late fall bringing migratory ducks, geese, and tundra swans. Smaller birds stud the marshes and woodlands throughout the spring, summer, and fall; waders—the herons and egrets—prowl the edges. Blackbirds mass together in huge feeding flocks each winter, gleaning the farm fields and hedgerows.
Diverse habitats in this 2,285-acre preserve also host a number of mammals, including beavers, muskrat, and the endangered Delmarva fox squirrel. To keep the white-tailed deer population in check, the refuge designates specific days in September and October for hunting. Check with the refuge if you plan to paddle during these months.
Go Prepared
A day on the water can bring as many surprises as bird sightings, so prepare your gear accordingly. Load your kayak or canoe with these essentials, packed in waterproof containers: food, lots of water, first aid kit, extra paddle, bailer, and personal items. Weather can change rapidly—storms can rage into a sunny day in no time. Always pack rain gear and a warm layer.
No Kayak or canoe? Rental opportunities are available in Rock Hall. There are also a number of charming inns in the area, if you’d like to spend the night.
The Paddlers’ Map and Guide of the Eastern Neck Water Trail created by the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network is available at the visitor center. The map and guide—waterproof, tear-proof, and loaded with information—outlines the complete trail, adding immensely to your trip.
Practice Leave No Trace principles: dispose of waste properly, be sensitive to the environment, and show respect for the wildlife.
Don’t forget your sunscreen and insect repellent, spring through fall. The perfect stillness of early morning—prized for smooth paddling, great photography, and bird-watching—can also mean biting flies and mosquitoes. Once you’re doused in bug spray, however, the trip is pure pleasure.
Off You Go
Heading north on the Chester River you’ll quickly arrive at markers two and three, tucked in a quiet cove lined with phragmites reeds and groundsel trees. Songs from woodland birds—the tea-kettle, teakettle blast from a Carolina wren and the three slow intro notes of a song sparrow—ring in the trees, a mix of pine and hardwoods. In the fall, listen for geese as they traverse the island; hundreds flying in chevrons, their voices filling the skies like the tuning of an orchestra’s woodwind section.
Less than 20 minutes from Bogle’s Wharf you’ll reach marker four and the first interpretative sign, at the end of the Duck Inn Trail. This is a worthwhile stop where you’ll learn more about the value of oysters in the Bay and how scientists are working to restore their population. If you feel like stretching your legs you’ll find that the trail wanders through oak and pine woods, brimming with migratory birds in the spring.
Just beyond marker four the first marsh weaves back into the island, one slice of the refuge’s 1,000 acres of marshland. Red-winged blackbirds abound, filling the air with their squeaks, gurgles, chucks, and whistles. Ducks and herons hide here, tucked into the reeds.
Emerge from the marsh and strike north for Boxes Point. If you haven’t already started, begin your eagle watch now.
Eagles and Ospreys
Eastern Neck Island’s eagle population is hard to miss. Watch for the large dark birds in dead snags high above the water. The adult bald eagle is easily recognizable, with its all-brown body and white head and tail, but the juvenile birds are a motley mix of dark feathers with smatterings of white on the underwings and belly. They’ll gain their adult plumage in four to five years, but by 12 weeks they have already achieved their full height of three feet. The eagles’ wingspans average six to seven feet, the larger females’ reaching almost eight feet.
You could mistake an osprey for an eagle but they are smaller, with a five-foot wingspan, and they sport a white body. Their white heads are decorated with a dark eye stripe, and their wings look crooked, bending backwards at the wrist. Ospreys arrive on the Bay in March to rebuild their nests and raise their young. The adult females head back to South America by mid-August, followed by the males and then the young in September and early October.
Osprey nests are common Bay sights, often balanced on platforms made by humans. You will rarely see an eagle nest, though. Eagles are much more wary of humans than ospreys are, and they hide their nests back in the woods. Eagles build their nests high in the trees, preferring the tall, strong loblolly pines on the Eastern Shore that can grow 80–110 feet high. the eagle nests range in size from 5–10 feet in diameter and from 3–12 feet deep, and they can weigh one to two tons!
Watch for new fliers testing their wings in summer; young eagles fledge in June, the ospreys in July.
Through the Narrows
A stop at Boxes Point Trail brings you to interpretive sign five, Seeking Refuge, alluding to the 240 species of birds that live on or migrate to the island. Land birds abound here—listen for the drink-your-tea of the eastern towhee and the high seeps of warblers in spring.
Around the point you enter Frying Pan Cove on the way to the Narrows. Follow the shore as the entrance to the bridge is hard to see at this point. Due north is Church Creek. The Narrows fill with waterfowl in late fall as ducks and tundra swans arrive from the Arctic. Dress for cold in the fall or early winter to enjoy this birdwatcher’s paddling paradise while avoiding the wind of the Bay.
Krrmmgk! Krrmmgk! Great blue herons may chastise you for entering their fishing hole as you approach the bridge separating the island from the mainland. Mallards line up for inspection on a downed tree under the bridge. Fish-loving terns fly over with choice minnows; fish crows crack uh-huh calls; kingfishers rattle by—the welcoming committee as you head toward the Bay.
Into the Chesapeake
Past the Tundra Swan Overlook and boardwalk you’ll come to the marshy Tubby Cove and Calfpasture Cove. Tempting, so tempting . . . if you decide not paddle around the whole island or you have time for a long day ahead, enjoy a side trip into these quiet coves.
Eagles call to each other in loud sharp whistles, some perched high in the trees near Ingleside Recreation Area, marker nine. Cormorants—more fish lovers—dive nearby; bluejays call in the trees. The Bay gleams ahead. The fishing must be good; eagles soar and plunge over the dark water.
You’ve come 3.6 miles at this point. The trail is about 10 miles plus side excursions. Whitecaps at this part of the trip should turn prudent paddlers back for explorations into the sheltered creeks and coves. There is no shame in retreat. The next section of the water trail is exposed to the full vagaries of the Bay—wind, tide, and waves. Only experienced adult and teen paddlers should attempt this part of the trail. If mild breezes and gentle riffles greet you, then forward ho!
On to the Butterfly Garden
Duck inside the breakwater, where a series of rock walls protect the shoreline from erosion. The Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service added dredge material behind these barriers in 2002 to help restore wetlands. The Friends of Eastern Neck and the National Aquarium teamed up with volunteers and planted 60,000 native cordgrass sprouts to help restore habitat for small fishes, turtles, birds, and crabs.
Eagles continue to dot the treetops. In late summer watch for migrating monarch butterflies heading south—except in the Butterfly Garden, where even monarchs pause. Here, at marker 11, you are halfway around the trail. The perfect stop: the sandy beach makes a lovely picnic spot and the interpretive sign will educate you about wetland restoration. Walk north along the shore amid summery plumes of pink knotweed, lavender, and milkweed and the towering red stalks of tidemarsh waterhemp. Mussel shells and bleached logs line the high-tide mark. Turn right, stepping carefully on the rocks, up the small path leading to the garden.
A short trail to the left takes you to a wooden blind. Peer through the slats to a pond where wood duck boxes bring the promise of these small colorful ducks throughout the summer. Continue on the interpretive trail through the woods to the garden or back the way you came to the Butterfly Bayview Trail. Sweet gum saplings and sumac create a low, dense, brush where wildflowers flourish. Enjoy the seasonal bounty of colorful native wildflowers, from cardinal flowers, bee balm, and butterfly weed of summer to the fall’s goldenrod, asters, and tickseed sunflowers. Late-summer purple thistles entice the monarchs to pause in their migration and drink up on their way to Mexico. Find your favorite butterflies here: buckeyes, swallowtails, sulphurs, hairstreaks, and skippers. Pearl Crescent. American Lady. Red Admiral.
Paddle On
Now it’s time to paddle. You’re halfway around the trail; it’s another 3.3 miles to Hail Point, where you’ll enter the Chester River again. Follow the rock-barricaded shoreline and feel your shoulder muscles ripple as you lean into steady strokes. Heading south into the midday sun calls for a good hat, sunscreen, and lip balm. An outgoing tide here is welcome, and minimal or northwesterly winds are a bonus. If a strong wind blows against the tide, the chop can become difficult to paddle. Be sure to check the weather and tides before heading out (see sidebar).
The Bay creates a stunning backdrop on your right. Sailboats glisten and the Bay Bridge comes into view. Wake from motor boats will find their way to your hull—be prepared to turn into the waves as needed to avoid having a swell hit you broadside. A surprise dumping with all your gear is no fun, even on the warmest summer day.
At marker 12 you can tuck into the shallow cove behind the breakwater, surfing the crest of waves to shore. Soon after that check the osprey platform rising out of the phragmites reeds. The young hatch in June and fledge in mid-July, but they’ll all be headed south by late September. Marker 13 is Baybush Point, just southwest of the visitor center tucked beyond Tidal Marsh Overlook Trail. Extensive protected marshlands do not allow a stop here. More beaches will beckon along this stretch, but stop only briefly if you must. The southern end of the refuge is managed for wildlife rather than people; the water trail offers you prime viewing of this native habitat. Watch the tall dead snags along the shore where trees venture close to the waterline as you pass Panhandle Point, marker 14. A peregrine tower comes into view, tucked behind the breakwater. Originally built as a hacking spot for young peregrine falcons, it is now often used as a nesting site by ospreys. This is a nice stop, but shallow. Jump out and pull as needed.
Hail Point
Hail Creek entices to the left as you approach the end of your Bay adventures. With only about 2.5 miles to go, the creek promises a peaceful side trip, full of marsh plants and birds and respite for aching shoulders. Indulge yourself. You’ve earned it.
Moving on, you’ll round Hail Point and enter the Chester River again. You can see Bogle’s Wharf ahead and your car will be there, right where you left it.
How long will the whole trip take? A casual paddle, with stops to watch birds, take photographs, and have lunch, will take from 4 to 7 hours, depending on your speed and side trips. If you are an experienced paddler, with a love for the Bay and its wildlife, then this is a water trail you won’t want to miss.
How to Get There
Directions: Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge (1730 Eastern Neck Rd., Rock Hall, MD 21661) is on the Eastern Shore in Maryland, about 6 miles south of Rock Hall.
From Maryland’s western shore: Take Rt. 50/301 East across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Follow Rt. 301 North after 50 and 301 split. Turn onto Rt. 213 North and follow to Chestertown (see directions below).
From points north: Take Rt. 213 South to Chestertown or Take Rt. 301 South to Rt. 290 (Galena/Sassafras). Follow Rt. 290 South to Galena, Maryland. Continue straight through the light onto Rt. 213 South. Take Rt. 213 South to Chestertown (see directions below).
From points south along the Eastern Shore: Take Rt. 50 West to Rt. 301 North. Follow Rt. 301 North briefly. Take Rt. 213 North into Chestertown (see directions below).
From Chestertown: In Chestertown turn from Rt. 213 onto Rt. 291 (also marked “to Rt. 20”). At the T-shaped intersection turn right onto Rt. 20 South toward Rock Hall. Follow Rt. 20 South for 12 miles, to Rock Hall. At the blinking red light turn left onto Rt. 445. Follow Rt. 445 about 8 miles out of Rock Hall to the refuge entrance bridge.
Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center:
January–March open 11 a.m.–3 p.m., 7 days a week except holidays and April–December open 10 a.m.–4 p.m., 7 days a week except holidays.
Phone: (410) 639-7056
E-mailWebsiteWeather and Tides:
Always check the weather and tides before going. Do not paddle if lightning storms are predicted. Paddling against tidal flow can be difficult, and if the wind is blowing against the tide waves can form.
Go
here and click on Weather.
For tides go to
www.saltwatertides.com. Click on Tides, then on Maryland. Scroll down to the Eastern Shore and the Chester River. Queenstown will give you the approximate tide for the area.