The Wilmington Trail Club is excited to announce the 2nd Annual Brandywine Valley Trails Challenge – a 50 K event for hikers and runners, with a 35 K option.The Brandywine Valley Trails Challenge will both start and finish in Brandywine Creek State Park (BCSP) at the Hawk Watch Pavillion. It will start with a loop in the beautiful forests and meadows of Winterthur, where we have special permission to hike on the dates of the warm-up and the day of the event. The route will continue along the Brandywine River to Smiths Bridge Parking Lot. Then the route will continue through First State National Historical Park (FSNHP) and on to Penns Woods with small stream crossings in a beautiful forest.
Finally, the route winds its way to Alapocas Run State Park. After traveling through Alapocas Woods, the final leg enters the Northern Delaware Greenway Trail and heads north back to a finish in BCSP. (Participants may choose to skip the Alapocas loop, shortening the hike by ~ 15 km).The Brandywine Valley Trails Challenge is an impressive tour of beautiful areas. It goes through old growth climax forests, around cultivated fields, horse pastures, a vineyard and many scenic hills with much less road walking than the End-to-End.
It will surprise many hikers that such natural areas are so close to Wilmington. We consider this long hike to be at least as challenging as the End-to End because of the hilly terrain. Similar to the End-to-End, the hike will be well-supported with rest stops and a cook-out at the finish.
EXACT COORDINATES: 39.804396, -75.578132NEAREST
ADDRESS: 62 Adams Dam Rd Wilmington, DE 19807
WHERE: Brandywine Creek State Park – Hawk Watch Lot