The Junction and Breakwater Trail is a long

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetca ...

located on the southwestern side of

Cape Henlopen State Park Cape Henlopen State Park is a Delaware state park on on Cape Henlopen in Sussex County, Delaware, in the United States. William Penn made the beaches of Cape Henlopen one of the first public lands established in what has become the United ...

connecting

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre ...

and

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Rehoboth Beach ( ) is a city on the Atlantic Ocean along the Delaware Beaches in eastern Sussex County, Delaware. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the population was 1,327, reflecting a decline of 161 (11.2%) from the 1,488 counted in the 2000 ce ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. It is the third rail trail built in Delaware and it is the longest in the state. It partially follows the former

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

Rehoboth Beach branch that once transported passengers to several

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

resort camps along the Atlantic coast. The line was abandoned by the

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and th ...

in the early 1970s. The Junction and Breakwater Trail is named after the former railroad line between Lewes and Rehoboth in the mid-19th century. The first of the trail was opened in December 2003 after acquiring parcels and easements from private landowners. On June 4, 2007, an additional were added, extending the trail to Kings Highway in Lewes. Plans are being discussed to extend the trail further into town. The trail includes two bridges, including an long

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

bridge originally built in 1913 that crosses Holland Glade and provides views of coastal wetlands and of a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

observation tower located on the coast. The trail consists of crushed stone with an average width of .

Notes

External links

Map
Rail trails in Delaware Protected areas of Sussex County, Delaware Protected areas established in 2003 National Recreation Trails in Delaware {{US-trail-stub