Discover Caroline County, Maryland

As much as we love to cycle, riding can be a hassle sometimes...what with the traffic and occasional (and decidedly unfriendly) honking, and even hollering. Give yourself a break and forget the headache of trying to redefine the edge of suburban sprawl. You can find relief in Caroline County, Maryland. Riding there can simply be described as bliss.

In Caroline County traffic isn't an issue because there isn't any, at least any as suburbanites know it. As Rick Barton, director of public works and acting county administrator put it, "the entire county is a bike path." He's not kidding. The roads are virtually car and debris free. And the drivers you do encounter are courteous and helpful. So sure of their hidden gem, the county has created eleven routes, ranging from 14 to 48 miles, and a "Cycling in Caroline County" brochure to promote them. I had picked up that brochure at the D.C. travel show and decided that planning a weekend getaway couldn't get any simpler.

But where is Caroline County, you're asking? Situated between Talbot County and Delaware, you probably don't realize you've passed through it every time on your way to Rehoboth Beach. "We'd like to see people drive to it, rather than through it," says Natalie Chabot, former director of tourism for the county.

The only Eastern Shore county not to border the Chesapeake Bay or the Atlantic Ocean, Caroline is known as the Green Garden County for its lush scenery. And with a population of only 30,000 (that's just 20,000 more than when the first federal census was taken in 1790), small-town hospitality is a way of life here and one of the main reasons you should consider a visit. Denton resident and tourism coordinator Kathleen Mackel says, "I think of our town as kind of like a "Mayberry." Other residents echo this same sentiment and what comes across most is an intense pride in their community and traditions.

While "small-town" can mean tranquil and friendly, it doesn't have to mean boring. Predominantly an agricultural area, the riding scenery isn't just farmland. Forests, woodlands, and marshes abound, giving more than just riding opportunities. With a little planning, you can be busy from sun up to sun down doing anything from visiting museums and taking in a weekend festival to canoeing, bird-watching, and hang-gliding.

Denton, the county seat and largest of Caroline's ten incorporated towns, is a good place to begin or base your visit. The Best Western located right off the highway offers easy accommodations (and a swimming pool), but staying at a local bed & breakfast like The Bryant-Todd House puts you in the heart of this town's historic district and within easy walking distance to quaint Market Street. Situated on the shores of the Choptank River, this Victorian home was built in 1880 and is pristinely cared for by innkeepers Mary and Ray Claytor. "We treat everyone like family," says Mary who invites guests to enjoy all of their waterfront property. In addition to two guestrooms, the Carriage House behind the home has been elegantly restored. It can comfortably sleep six and includes a kitchenette (stocked with goodies!) which would be perfect for a family or group of riding friends.

Armed with the cycling brochure, we chose one of the 30ish mile rides from Denton. One perhaps obvious tip about the brochure is that even though different routes give other towns as starting points, it's easy to modify rides to start at any town the route passes through. For instance, while Denton is listed as the starting point for only two of the rides, you could easily do three others. The brochure, available online and at the Denton information booth in town, not only contains the actual cued rides, but also includes a handy detailed map with the routes clearly marked. Because of this, combining different routes, as well as changing the start locations, is simple; you could easily create much longer rides with all the information provided.

Fortified by lunch at The Lily Pad Café (www.lilypadcafe.net), which is lodged in a historic 1883 Schoolhouse, we set out for our first ride. Though in the afternoon and blazingly hot, the mostly flat terrain, gentle breeze, and sporadic shading from woodsy areas made the ride delightful. That and the fact that practically the only motorized vehicle we saw outside of Denton was a crop-dusting plane. At first catching our attention by looking like a stunt plane with its dramatic rising and curving route, we realized our error when we came upon its target field. Funny how something so simple was entertaining to us, never actually having seen that before. We watched a few times as the load was expertly dropped and timed our beeline path in between swoops.

Of course you could easily chug through the routes without stopping since you'll have little interruption, but you'll be missing out on some of the area's charm. Stop by one of the country stores you come across, like we did as our route passed through Harmony. Stay for a few minutes at Mary's Country Store and you'll find pleasant conversation and cold ice cream treats a tasty diversion; stay a little longer and you'll probably get all the town information you need from the stream of regulars dropping by. Taking time for a little conversation and to "smell the roses," or pet the horses, as the case may be, will yield a richer experience. On one such stop we were greeted by the young caretaker (of said horses) who eagerly showed off her friends.

We started our next day's ride in Ridgely and its tree-lined streetscape of Victorian homes. The day's ride took us from a morning triathlon at Tuckahoe State Park, past an arboretum, on to a hang-gliding competition in the afternoon, and ended with a stop to an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. After taking in the triathlon's final phase, canoeing-a twist on the typical swimming portion, we next rode by Adkins arboretum (www.adkinsarboretum.org), a 400-acre preserve located on the Tuckahoe Creek. A stop there gives you over four miles of winding paths through woods, meadows, streams, wetlands, and gardens to explore.

We stayed on course for the day with our riding partner, Rick, who also happens to be the former superintendent of Maryland state parks. A cyclist himself, he noted that when riding, you "can see as far ahead for safety as needed and still look at the scenery. I can go as fast or slow as I want and not be bothered by cars." Though our day just had a gentle breeze, he did note that sometimes the wind determines his route, adding "it can be a good training device."

Next up, a tractor pull, taking place at a firehouse mid-route, offered a much-appreciated break on this very hot and sunny day. In fact, stopping at any local firehouse is a fine alternative if you need a water stop and a country store is nowhere in sight.

Refreshed, we finished our ride with a visit to Ridgely Airpark, home this day to the East Coast Hang-Gliding competition. We joined hang-gliders who were lined up with their craft, to watch as support planes escorted competitors, one by one, into flight. Had we been so inclined (and a competition not going on), we could have easily ditched our bikes for a hang-glider. Depending on how high you want to fly, Highland Aerosports (www.aerosports.net) offers trips to the sky costing between $130 and $550.

No trip to Ridgely is complete without a stop at the Ridgely Pharmacy, home to an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. Blame it on the heat, but a milkshake never tasted so good!

Back in Denton, you can take in a bit of Caroline County's agricultural history with a visit to the Museum of Rural Life which offers visitors a glimpse into the county's past through a few key historic dwellings. Caroline is only one of four or five counties in the United States that has existed for more than 300 years exclusively on its agriculture economy and many small museums throughout the county emphasize this.

But not only rich in agricultural history, Caroline happens also to have been important to the Underground Railroad. In Preston you can visit historic Linchester Mill, its grounds thought to be where Harriet Tubman helped her parents pass to freedom. We were fortunate to visit during the annual Linchester Mill Arts & Music festival which supports restoration work of the historical society.

The rest of our trip took us to another Bed & Breakfast, Schrader's Bridgetown Manor, a spacious lodge where we could have tried out our marksmanship skills on the clay range had we the time. Opting for a bike loop in the northern part of the county instead, we made a few wrong turns but several friendly drivers we flagged down pointed us back; having gone several miles off course on yet another hot day, I was never so glad to hear gunshots in my life! That sound could only mean that the lodge was just down the road.

There's so much more...dinner at Harry's in Greensboro (www.anywheregourmet.com/Harrys/Restaurant.htm) where you'll often see Harry himself behind the 1930s style bar where you can ask him about all those photos in the entryway showing his past biking trips; a late-night visit to the Irish pub in Denton to drink a Guinness and listen to the live music; and a morning pre-ride trip to Denton's Firehouse Coffee (www.firehousecoffeecafe.net), recently opened by two firefighters and billed as having the best coffee and espresso on the Eastern Shore. "Slowing down" to small-town life sure can keep you busy!

Caroline County is small now, but just like our familiar and former country roads, it's not immune to development. In fact there are ongoing plans in Denton to develop a program which would help small local business grow and make Denton an art-lovers destination in years to come. You can be assured, however, whatever plans take shape, you'll be able to revisit Caroline's charm for years to come; the county commissioner holds as a top priority keeping Caroline as a "quintessential rural place on the Eastern Shore" and that plan trumps all. A visit to this overlooked county will show you why pride in the past ensures their bright future.

General Information:
www.tourcaroline.com
Cycling in Caroline County Brochure-www.tourcaroline.com/pdfs/bike_brochure_2007.pdf
www.carolinehistory.org

Getting There: Take US-50E to MD-404E. That's it! Less than 2 hours and 80 miles from most points in MD/DC/Northern VA vicinity.

Lodging:
Best Western Denton Inn 410-479-8400
The Bryant-Todd House Inn 410-479-2299 www.bryant-toddhouseinn.com
Idylwild Farm 410-754-9141 www.idylwildfarm.com
Schrader's Bridgetown Lodge 410-758-1824 www.schradershunting.com

Camping:
Martinak and Tuckahoe State Parks 888-432-2267 www.dnr.state.md.us
Holiday Park 410-482-6797