Dividing Creek is one of the few hardwood lined creeks on the lower Delmarva peninsula. On a crystal clear fall day the kayaking upstream is spectacular. Our trip began at the Winters Quarter Boat launch on the Pocomoke River in Pocomoke City. An easy one mile paddle upstream on the Pocomoke brings one to the entrance to Dividing Creek on the opposite shore. On this late October morning we left Winter’s Quarter just as the high tide began flowing upstream on the Pocomoke. This certainly made for an easy paddle. The tidal currents on the Pocomoke are formidable at times, however currents are barely noticeable once you enter Dividing Creek.
Entering Dividing Creek the sunlight and changing fall leaves provided a tranquil setting. A warm yellow light filtered through the trees. The cypress needles had already turned brown, and the other trees were entering their color phase. Words can’t describe the tranquility of the creek on this trip. Hardwood swamps border the creek on both sides. Plan ahead as there are very few places to put ashore.
This fall day was so still around every turn one found a new reflection of trees and clouds in the water. We stopped often to admire and take photos. Small song birds flitted around in the trees. The birds were often hard to spot. There is an abundance of robins in this area, something we noticed on our last trip.
After a few miles a road comes in close to the creek and eventually you paddle under a bridge. Dividing Creek is well named as it serves as the boundary between Somerset and Worchester County, MD.
The creek is narrow near the Pocomoke, but about 3 miles upstream it opens up several times into large pond areas. Again, when entering these ponds, the reflections in the water always caused us to pause and admire. We continued four miles upstream before turning back. Fellow kayakers, we met at the launch, shared later they were able to paddle 5 1/2 miles upstream before a tree blocked their progress.
Throughout the day we kept watching the tree tops for evidence of bald eagles, since the creek seemed like a perfect spot for them. Shortly before we reached the junction with the Pocomoke two eagles flew out of a tree along the shoreline. We knew eagles were there somewhere!
As we entered the Pocomoke and started downstream the wind and tidal flow were against us. This is always a challenge on the Pocomoke. We didn’t quite plan correctly as within half a mile the tide slowed and the last stretch to the launch was peaceful.
Such a perfect day, we are planning a return trip this weekend with family. Hopefully, the sky and colors cooperate for another beautiful day.
GPS Topo Map of our trip.
Winters Quarter Boat Ramp – operated by City of Pocomoke, no fee required. Restrooms in golf pro shop open to boaters.
Directions: From intersection of Rt. 113 and Rt 13. North on Rt. 13 approximately 1 mile to Winter’s Quarter Rd on the right. Boat ramp at end of road.
For more Kayaking Delmarva blog posts visit our Blog Index.
Kayaking Delmarva 
My wife and I kayaked on Dividing Creek on May 29th and May 30th, 2018. It was my all time favorite flat water paddling experience. The first day we put in at Winters Quarters Boat Launch as described and pictured above. With the heavy rains of previous weeks the creek was at least 3 feet over its banks. The creek meanders through the cypress swamp with a gentle current. We saw lots of birds, two we had never seen before. However, before we got as far as the bridge at Dividing Creek Road, the creek was blocked by a log jam. The next morning we drove to the bridge on Dividing Creek Road that Dividing Creek passes under to scout out a possible put in. We found that up stream from the bridge, Dividing Creek circles back towards the road, as shown on the map above. This point turned out to provide a very easy put in. The kayaks just slid in the water, as with the water level over its banks, the creek came within a few feet of the roadway. Note, this is not an official put in. Once in the water, we continued up the creek. We passed over two fallen trees. Would we have been able to get past these fallen trees if the water level was not so high? Then we came to another fallen tree that ended our paddle up stream. Would we have been able to go under this fallen tree if the water level was lower? We then paddled down stream, past our put in and under the bridge at Diving Creek Road and on to the log jam that halted our paddle the previous day. So while we are very enthusiastic about this gorgeous water way, the various possible blockages are something to contend with. We enjoyed two great days of paddling, but we would have gone further each day if not for the blockages. Let’s hope some good Samaritan will clear these blockages. Let us know if conditions change, as we would love to return to Dividing Creek in the Fall.
David Katz
katzd67@gmail.com
LikeLike
David,
Thank you so much for this information. The water levels are high everywhere in this area, but it sounds like there must have been some flooding on Dividing Creek. We have been several places where we’ve seen trees which just fell over into the water due to the soil being so saturated. We were on Dividing Creek in very late October 2017 and those log jams were definitely not there. If you don’t mind I’m going to copy your comment and put it into a blog post as an update on Dividing Creek so others will see the information. Thanks so much!
LikeLike