How far is the Georgetown-to-Lewes Trail from downtown Milton? By paved path, there's no answer yet. The 17-mile trail is scheduled to be finished in December. Its final segment ends at Fisher Road near Milton, and DelDOT's project page lists that work as still under construction. The 5 to 7 miles between the trail and town are still being studied, and nobody has picked a route.
That's the reason this fall matters. DelDOT's survey on the Milton connection doesn't ask residents to pick a line on a map, because no lines have been drawn. It asks what a good route should prioritize. Whatever residents rank highest becomes part of what the engineers design around.
Where the big trail actually stops
Here's how the pieces stand as of this week:
| Piece | Length | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Georgetown-to-Lewes Trail, full route | 17 miles | Final phase under construction, completion scheduled December 2026 |
| Final segment, Airport Road to Fisher Road | 6.1 miles | Groundbreaking December 2025, work began in earnest in spring 2026 |
| Hudson Park to Milton connector | About 5 to 7 miles | In study, route not chosen |
| Milton Rail-Trail, Chestnut to Lavinia streets | 0.8 miles | Open, paved |
The last leg is the hardest stretch the state has built on this trail. According to the Cape Gazette's June report, it includes a 1.6-mile elevated boardwalk, 12 feet wide, built to avoid damaging wetlands. The rest of the trail is a 10-foot-wide paved path that partly follows the old Delaware Coast Line Railroad corridor. The same report said the state plans a 5K and an opening bike ride to celebrate, though no dates had been set.
In the meantime, DelDOT's project page says Park Avenue will be detoured in late October so crews can finish the rail crossing there. If you drive Park Avenue, expect the detour any day now.
Route 9 is the first problem any route has to solve
The connector is planned to start at Stephen P. Hudson Park, the Sussex County Land Trust property at 18482 Cool Spring Road. The first phase of the park is a parking area, a trail connection and a small rest area. The park is on the south side of Route 9, and trail users are told not to cross Route 9 there. The Cape Gazette reported in June that the safest way across right now is to ride to Fisher Road, cross at the signal, and then head back east.
A permanent fix has been discussed, and one option is already off the table. The Delaware Bicycle Council first gave Sussex County $35,000 to study a tunnel under Route 9 near Cool Spring. Then Sen. Chris Coons authorized funding to design a bike and pedestrian bridge at the same spot. The county asked DelDOT which it preferred, and the state chose the bridge. The bicycle council then moved the $35,000 to the Milton connector. That money is paying for an engineering study of two culverts at Beaverdam Creek on Walker Road, near the Anthem development, that might carry the trail.
According to the same reporting, a safer crossing is needed because new housing in the area keeps adding traffic to Route 9. Studying a culvert on Walker Road tells you how early this work still is. Engineers are still checking whether existing structures could carry a trail at all.
The survey asks for priorities
The connector study costs $176,000. Sussex Cyclists, the Sussex County Land Trust, Dogfish Head, Rep. Alonna Berry, Sen. Russ Huxtable, DelDOT and the Federal Highway Administration are paying for it. DelDOT officials first presented the idea at a fundraiser at Dogfish Head in Milton last November. They said the study would settle on a map, identify environmental impacts and estimate a cost, which puts DelDOT in a position to apply for construction money. It's expected to take about a year. The trail's features and branding haven't been decided either.
The DelDOT survey on PublicInput describes the connector as a shared-use path from Hudson Park to the Milton Rail-Trail at Chestnut Street, but it doesn't show any route options. Instead, it asks you to rank what matters most:
- Fewer roadway crossings
- A more direct route
- Scenery
- Shade
- Connections to neighborhoods and destinations
- Rest stops
- Less impact on private property
These factors pull against each other. The most direct line from Hudson Park into town probably isn't the shadiest one, and a route that links the most neighborhoods may need more road crossings. Ranking them tells the engineers which tradeoffs residents will accept.
The survey page doesn't list a closing date, and it shows two public workshops as planned but gives no dates or locations. It's best to fill it out soon rather than wait for a deadline.
Milton already has a rough idea of where bikes and walkers should enter town. The town's Active Transportation Plan, a joint effort with DelDOT, shows entrances via Harbeson Road, Cave Neck Road and Lavinia Street from the south, Union Street Extended from the north, and Route 16 as the east-west route. If one of those is the road you'd use, say so in the survey.
The connector ends at the town's own intersections
The connector is planned to end at Chestnut Street, and that's where the second process comes in. Milton is starting a separate Safe Streets for All action plan, paid for by a $96,000 federal grant the town received in 2024. Milton was the only municipality in Delaware to get one.
The Cape Gazette reported on Oct. 7 that the town's engineers, Rossi Group, would complete a safety analysis in October and begin preparing for public input through the town's Streets and Sidewalks Committee. A survey and a public workshop are part of the early work, and the final plan is due in July 2027.
The plan has to address at least 10 intersections:
- Harbeson and Sand Hill roads
- Federal, Mulberry and Wharton streets
- Federal, Front and Union streets
- Union and Magnolia streets
- Union Street and Atlantic Avenue
- Mulberry and Lavinia streets
- Mulberry and Magnolia streets
- Chestnut, Wharton and Atlantic streets
- Front and Chestnut streets
- Front Street and Cave Neck Road
Two of those intersections are on Chestnut Street, where the connector would bring riders into town. Several others are on roads the Active Transportation Plan names as bike and pedestrian entrances, including Harbeson Road, Cave Neck Road, Lavinia Street and Union Street. Some changes have already happened. Since the town applied for the grant, DelDOT has added all-way stops and pedestrian improvements at Chestnut/Wharton/Atlantic and at Federal/Mulberry/Wharton.
So DelDOT's survey covers the miles between Hudson Park and Chestnut Street, and the town's coming survey covers the streets a rider would use after reaching Chestnut.
One idea you may have heard about is still only a proposal. A 2024 feasibility study described a shared-use path of about 2,700 feet on Lavinia Street, from Wagamons West Shores to Mulberry Street. The consultant, Verdantas, recommended the north side, but Town Council hadn't decided whether to go ahead. In the October Safe Streets coverage, walking and biking space on Lavinia was still listed as a future need.
What you can walk this weekend
The routes the connector would join are open now. The Milton Rail-Trail is 0.8 miles of asphalt between Chestnut and Lavinia streets, suitable for walking, biking, inline skating and wheelchairs. The 2020 extension from Federal Street to Lavinia crosses a refurbished railroad trestle and gives access toward Wagamon's West Shores. Walk it end to end and you'll have covered the stretch the connector is meant to reach.
Down by the river, Governor's Walk links Mill Park on Mulberry Street to Memorial Park at the foot of Union Street, behind the Sussex County Public Library, and it honors five governors who called Milton home. Mill Park has a fishing dock on the Broadkill. Memorial Park has a playground, a gazebo, picnic tables and a small marina with a boat launch.
For a short hike outside town, The Nature Conservancy's Edward H. McCabe Preserve has Bennett's Trail. It's 0.63 miles each way, about 1.3 miles round trip, and you park off Round Pole Bridge Road.
Dogfish Head, which is helping pay for the connector study, is holding a Halloween afternoon at the Milton Brewery on Oct. 31 from 2 to 5 p.m. It includes live music, Browseabout Books' Ales & Tales bookfair and a costume contest. The town's trick-or-treat hours that evening are 6 to 8 p.m.
If you'd like to talk through how new trails and street changes could affect your corner of Milton, or you just want help finding the workshop dates once they're posted, Denny Horner and the Denny & Leyla Team are happy to help. In the meantime, the DelDOT survey only takes a few minutes. Contact Us anytime.
