ramps on or near the northern bay

M

mvilardo

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Hi,

We live in Bear DE (basicaly near the 1/2 way point of the C&D)and usually trailer our 18ft runabout down to North East MD. I was wondering if there were any acess to the bay closer than this?

Thanks,
Mark
 
Mark,

There is a nice ramp at Duffy Creek Marina on the Sassafras River (I think it is about $10 per use). There is a public ramp (Kent County MD) in Turner Creek just off the Sassafras. Either one is only 30 minutes or so from Bear and is a completely different (and nicer, IMHO) than the North East area.

Delaware Jim
 
There is also a public ramp on the Sassy between Sassafras Harbor Marina and The Granary restaurant... its down the little road just before you enter the Garnary's parking lot. Be advised that the public ramps in MD are county owned and operated and you are supposed to have a county issued permit to use them but I'm not sure how well that is enforced.

The ramp at Duffy's the Jim mentioned is probably your best option because it is maintained and parking is available.
 
If you want a close ramp, there's a nice one at Delaware City. I think Summit North has one, and of course the ACE ramp at Chesapeake City (but there's no good place to park). All 3 have access to the upper Bay thru the C&D canal. A little farther south (on the eastern shore) you'll find a number of ramps on the Bohemia river. Years ago I used BoVista's and it was steep but useable. The Hacks Point ramp is nice but expensive (at least it used to be...)

I concur with Jim and Mike about the Sassy- Duffy Creek was always my ramp of choice. It's always calm in their basin- even in a blow.

Rob
 
I concur with arks1 (Rob). The Delaware City ramp is right down the road from Bear and is big and has lots of parking. The ramp gets a little slick during low tides.
 
North East MD is only 18 miles from Bear, so there aren't many ramps closer than that. As others have said,the closest ramp is in Delaware City, on the C&D canal, actually not on the canal, it's on a channel that used to be the canal, near the east end. Seven miles from Bear.

Next closest is probably the ramp at Triton Marina, in Elkton,MD, on the upper Elk river, about 15 miles from Bear. But I think this ramp is closing because they filled their parking lot with a huge indoor rack storage facility, so there is no longer any parking. Next closest is probably Elk Neck state park, but now you are probably driving as far as if you were going to North East MD.

If you want to head down to the Bohemia or Sassafras, there are plenty more options, but now you're almost doubling your car ride, instead of decreasing it.

If you are just looking to get in the water close to home, another option is to launch at 'Up the Creek' restaraunt, on the Christina River, in downtown Wilmington. This is probably about ten miles from your house. I live in North Wilmington, and use this ramp quite often, but you're a decent haul from the Chesapeake Bay once you get in.
 
quote:
Originally posted by mvilardo

Click to expand...

I don't think Summit North has a boat ramp. Almost sure of it. I watched them use the travel lift to drop a 14 ft Boston Whaler, and trailer, in the other day. Haven't seen a lot full of trailers either. HOWEVER, I don't know for sure, I never paid a whole lot of attention.

Locust Point in Elkton used to have a very nice boat ramp and parking set up. I'd say that is a bit closer than NE, but not by a huge amount. Check their website or maybe bsmetro can chime in if they are still offering ramp services.
 
Summit North Marina does not have a ramp, we were there for 5 years and we had to trailer the SeaDoo to Chesapeake City basin ramp to launch.
 
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