Delaware Bayshore Byway

The Delaware Bayshore is widely recognized as an area of global ecological and historic significance. It is a Migratory Shorebird Site of Hemispheric Importance, a Wetland of International Significance and an Important Bird Area of Global Significance. Its expansive coastal marshes, sandy shoreline, forest, fields and agricultural lands provide habitat for more than 400 species of birds and other wildlife. The Nature Conservancy and the National Audubon Society recognize the region as globally significant wildlife habitat.  The Nature Conservancy has called the Delaware Bayshore “One of the Earth’s most important stopovers for migratory birds.” The small towns along the Delaware Bayshore enjoy a deep and rich heritage, which evolved from the early colonial settlements and thriving maritime industries that thrived on the abundant natural resources of the area.

The Delaware’s Bayshore Byway extends for 52 miles along State Route 9 from the City of New Castle in New Castle County, DE to its junction with State Route 1 east of Dover on the east side of the Dover Air Force Base in Kent County.  It includes two spurs of 2.5 miles each.  The first one connects the Village of Odessa to the Byway via State Route 299.  The second is a loop consisting of Kitts Hummock Road and Bergold Lane that connects the Byway to the John Dickinson Plantation, St. Jones Reserve and the Ted Harvey Conservation Area.  Route 9 is an amalgam of roadways with different local names that loosely parallel the Bayshore.

For more information go to Delawaregreenways.org page on the Bayshore Byway.