Amanda and I have been wanting to ride the Cross Island Trail for some time now. We had tried for the last two Sunday’s but the weather and the rain had other ideas. Yesterday however was a different story as we woke up to a gorgeous day, perfect for a bike ride.
We decided to start on the Western most end of the trail at Terrapin Nature Park and head west to Kent Island. We pulled in and for some reason I was expecting the park to be empty but what I found was a parking lot full of cars, lots of them with bike racks and people out and about with dogs. Our initial thought was that this would lead to a crowded trail but that was not the case at all. People were just out and about exploring and enjoying everything the trail and the parks have to offer.
We unloaded the bikes and headed out. What we discovered was a great trail. A little wider than many of the other trails I have ridden on which was very pleasant. As I was riding along I felt more like I was in a beach environment then on Kent Island Maryland. In many ways this sort of riding is my favorite. I find it very relaxing and a great way to see new areas while spending time with Amanda, plus it is her favorite type of riding.
This trail winds along sort of parallel to RT 50 but you don’t really feel that accept for a few occasions. The trail crosses across Kent Island High School and then a park full of ball fields offering the most open sections of area around the trail. The school is 0.9 miles from the nature park and would offer another good starting point for your ride. What the Cross Island Trail offers are a lot of great views at several of the bridges that you cross along the trail. We saw several Blue Herons and more in the waterways along the trail.
We rode to the end and then crossed over Kent narrows using the old Kent Island RT 50. There is a little bit of riding that you can do in this section but there are a bunch of water front restaurants to refuel at before you head back. Once we finished exploring this area we headed back and rode our bikes to the Chesapeake Exploration Center and then out to the point on Ferry Point Park. This park or the Chesapeake Exploration Center would make for a great picnic lunch spot. If you are so inclined bring your fishing rods along and do a little fishing here as well. This was a very popular activity at both of these parks.
We headed back to our car after exploring all of the things at the Eastern end of the park. Once we returned to the Terrapin Nature Park we did a little more exploring. There is a trail in the park that heads down to the Eastern shore of the Bay Bridge offering a great view of the Bay Bridge and some more areas to fish with some small beach areas, there are several access paths to these areas offering you and your family the chance to find some space of your own to enjoy the bay.
I really enjoyed this trail and the little extra width made it that much easier to get around other enjoying the park as well. From end to end the park is only about 5.5 miles long with the additional exploring we did I ended up with 14 miles of riding. I initially thought that the trail would be to short but what we ended up having was a great mid day ride that was perfect.
This trail would be a great trail to ride with the family or for newer riders who want a nice place to ride that isn’t super long.
See you on the trails!
Ernest Freeland
