Cheesequake State Park Guided Paddle
by Monica Orso
July 22, 2023
It was a big hooray on the weather...a not too hot, not too windy and most importantly not too rainy day after many weekends of less than desirable conditions.
A group of 12 HRCKC paddlers met at the "Crabbing Bridge" in Cheesequake State Park, greeted by park guides Grace and Haley. The park had 10 boats for our use, and they were as expected...err...well, not something I would rush out and buy! But convenient they were indeed, and it didn't matter too much given the short paddle that we took in calm waters. Two paddlers brought their own boats.
It was a leisurely paddle through the marshes at a very high tide, with an abundance of marsh wrens chirping through the reeds and several osprey nests with "almost adult" offspring that were not crazy about seeing us. Other wildlife spotted were cormorants, heron, egrets, ducks, and perhaps some turtle heads popping up here and there.
We paddled out to an old dock site where much of the area's stoneware pottery (Morgan pottery being the most notable) was shipped in colonial times. The area of Cheesequake Creek had plentiful supplies of high quality stoneware clay leading it to be the epicenter of the stoneware industry of that time. Back at the take-out the Crabbing Bridge was packed with...you guessed it, people crabbing. And they were actually catching some blueclaws, albeit not the big guys of yesteryear.
Thanks to Linda L., Linda G., Lois S., Jeff H., Valerie M., Kathy H., Lindsey M., Wayne W., Mike R., Charles F., and Phillip S. for coming along and helping out at the launch site.
Monica