White Clay Creek Trail

White Clay Creek Preserve/Review of the Mason-Dixon Trail

I hiked sections of the Mason-Dixon trail starting at the park office on Sharpless road in Pennsylvania. NOTE: Pick up a trail map on the porch of the park office building itself, there are none at the bulletin board in the parking lot. Followed the light blue trail markers for the Mason-Dixon trail south into Delaware. This section is very scenic and very easy, some of it gravel covered with some muddy areas. This part of the trail follows the White Clay Creek. At the "Nature Center" for White Clay Creek State Park in Delaware, I followed the trail markers to get to the Tri-state marker for the Mason-Dixon line. This area of the trail was probably more of a moderate level, definitely has a backwoods feel, not well marked and some areas it is difficult to follow the trail. I found it fun because this section winds it's way back and forth between Pennsylvania and Delaware. I did find the both the Tri-state corner marker and the Arc Corner marker, then headed back via the Arc Corner trail and then back on the Mason-Dixon trail back to the parking lot in Pennsylvania Total hike was about 8 miles and took me about 4 hours in heavy waterproof hikers and a hiking pole. A bit of advice: DON'T PARK IN DELAWARE: they charge $8.00 per car if you have an out of state tag ($4.00 for Delaware residents) between March 1 and November 30th, while the parking lots in Pennsylvania are free. You can hike into Delaware from the Pennsylvania side at no charge.

This is one of my absolute favorite trails in the Philadelphia area. It is a great walk along the white clay creek. This trail is long so bring lots of water it also crosses into Delaware. Please note that the trail is a little hilly and can be muddy.

The creek views are pretty but hiking the entire length and back (Penndel Trail) gets a bit mundane as the scenery and terrain doesn't change much. Most of the trail follows a relatively wide and flat pathway with a lot of traffic. A good beginner stroll, but doesn't offer much to someone looking for a more rugged or challenging hike.

Great float MTB trails. Ups are not too difficult and the downs are tight and challenging. Great beginner track.

Beautiful place to bring small children. We put water shoes on my son and he played in the creek all day!

White Clay creek is in view for just about the entire hike! Beautiful woodsy and lush scenery. Wish it were more clearly marked. Believe this hike is a conglomerate of intersecting trails (Pendel, Pomeroy, Nature Preserve, and Mason Dixon). Watch out for bikers! Lots of bank/beach areas to access the creek and take a dip or drop a line. Great for pups wanting to cool off after a few miles of walking.

Lots of options here. Love the numerous clear water streams!

This is a moderately-challenging trail due to the length, but the terrain is level, which makes it easy to navigate. Walking along the creek for almost the entire length of the trail and listening to the water is very nice. There are many spots along the trail/creek to dip in the water and play, so bring your gear accordingly.

If you continue on the paved road for about 1/4 mile before turning back onto the trail, there is a spooky-looking old house along the unmarked and dense section on the left. It is worth to go and have a peek at it.

The only first-world-problem type of complaint that I have is that the trail is heavily trafficked by recreational bicyclists and it can be difficult to hear them approaching from behind.

We last did this hike about 6 years back with some of our older children starting from the Chambers Rock Road end in Delaware. This time we took the younger children, started from the London Tract Road end in Pennsylvania, came down to the DE end on the Charles Baily trail (east side of the creek) and back up on the Penndel trail (west side of the creek). A great hike, a huge number of birds and frogs. Not to crowded. Enough mud after a big rain yesterday to make for one messy spill, but really a great trail surface. Highly recommended, with or without children.

One of my favorites! There is an old small building of some kind on one if the trails, i always wondered what it is? A root cellar?

In the description is says 8.2 miles but I racked up over 13 miles adding some side trails to my walk. It was a fairly decent hike and pretty enjoyable. I would recommend it.

I've been coming here my entire life, the preserve has many sections in DE and Pennsylvania. It's pay to park in DE (during fee months) but the PA side is free year round. Check the park website for more info. Judge Morris in the DE side is a great short hike and offers great mountain biking trails. The bike/hiking trails are very well maintained and well marked.

There's a bunch of rope swings you have to check out!! So fun

White Clay Creek/Penndel Trail Review

This morning I did an eight mile trail in Pennsylvania and Delaware all in a single hike. Thanks to AllTrails I found a hike close to the town of Kennett Square where I was staying. It all happened at the White Clay Creek Preserve. One of the trails was called the Penndel Trail and I decided to follow it because it looked like the start of the trail on AllTrails. Most of this hike parallels the White Clay Creek that features clear running shallow water with a mix of fast and slow moments. It looked like a place for fisher persons and I saw one fly fisherman on the hike. The trail was very clear and had a variety of widths but only a couple of spots where it was narrow. The Penndel Trail is an out and back that forms a "U" shape with a creek crossing over a bridge. The start of the hike was low and ran along the creek on the left and early on a beautiful reed field on the right. After crossing the bridge the trail still runs low but soon climbs to a higher elevation. The trail narrows a bit and you come upon a cornfield on the right. Then the climb begins with breathtaking views with the creek below. I was surprised when I came upon a sign that said Delaware White Clay Creek Preserve. I hiked until my recording told me I had gone about four miles in order to keep my distance to around an eight mile journey. I turned around at a parking lot and a sign that tells about Dorothy Miller who was involved with every major effort to make the preserve a reality and its increase from 24 to 3000 acres of protected stream valley, floodplain habitat, and forested hills. I would definitely do this hike again and I recommend giving it a go!

Great place to hike with the kids, lots of wildlife. Hiking by the river under the shade of the trees is nice on a hot day.

Absolutely amazing. It was so calming & relaxing. The view & terrain was beautiful. All of the other hikers were super friendly. All in all had a wonderful time.

Absolutely beautiful and relaxing hike. We walked from Delaware to Pennsylvania. Seen deer along our hike. The beauty of nature is amazing. First time using the "All Trails" app on my phone. If you click the direction button for White Clay and the address 104 Stone....come up, do not go there, it is a private residence. It is best to map out the location of White Clay via Internet.

I walk and ride this trail very often since it is close to my home. It is picturesque and beautiful in all seasons. You can ride your bike starting on this trail in Landenberg and it joins up with the Pomeroy trail in Newark, Delaware. The entire loop will give you a good 13 to 14 mile ride.

Great!

White clay creek encompasses a large area shared by both Delaware and Pennsylvania. The Pa side doesn't have a parking fee and the trails are more along the river. Fishing, walking, dog walking are all great to do here. Trails can be muddy after a storm but are mostly flat. Great park!

This is my all time favorite spot. The terrain is diverse, the scenery is beautiful, and pack a nice fly rod if you can coax them out the trout fishing is stellar! I typically run a 4-5 mile loop it is an amazing place!

Nice trail. Has some skill spots (depends which turn offs you take), but mostly flat.

Awesome smooth flowing singletrack. This trail is actually in Newark, DE. More than 20 miles of trails and a really cool skills trail.

Amazing single track riding for all levels. Beautiful and very well maintained park.

Well cared and fast singletrack with plenty of fun obstacles and trails. Definitely worth the trip.

I love the White Clay creek preserve. It meanders through several miles of Pa and Delaware countryside and is beautiful. I go whenever possible and you should too!