Federalsburg, Maryland is a small town of 3,000 souls that was incorporated in 1823. One story claims the name Federalsburg came from the Federalist Party which met in town in 1812. If you remember your history you know that the Federalist Party was the first political party in the US and one of its most prominent members was Alexander Hamilton. While the history is interesting, we appreciate Federalsburg because of Marshyhope Creek, a 37 mile tributary of the Nanticoke River. Marshyhope Creek offers a gentle paddle with an abundance of birds and plants to view while paddling.
Our normal put in at Federalsburg is the VFW boat ramp off Rosser Road. On August 24, 2019 we entered the creek on a sunny day and began to paddle downstream. While this is a tidal creek the tide flow is not overly strong so paddling against the tide is not difficult.
The water lilies were out in full force this day and we paddling by several large strands of them. Large flocks of turkey vultures circled overhead, but that’s a common state of affairs on DELMARVA.
Of special note to us were numerous sights of bank erosion where trees had eroded and fallen into the creek.
Marshyhope has an active beaver lodge. Several years ago we spotted the beaver late one afternoon, but unfortunately today all we could discern was his handy work.
As usual a number of great blue herons fished along the creek. Most would give us a chiding “awwwk, awwwwk” call and fly away. This one fellow stood his ground and seemed to be trash talking us.
As we approached our turnaround point we saw an eagles nest in a pine tree. No eagles but a nice home that seems in good condition.
In a small tributary we stopped for lunch and were blessed by butterfly visits to some nearby flowers.
As we began to paddle back to our starting point cloud made beautiful reflections in the creek waters.
We also continued to see signs of erosion.
Below is the map of our trip. We put in at the top of the map and paddled down to Skinners Run. After a nice lunch break with the butterflies we journeyed back to the VFW boat ramp.
Services: Gas stations and fast food in Federalsburg.
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Categories: Bald Eagles, Eastern Shore Kayaking, herons, kayak, marshyhope Creek, Maryland's Eastern Shore
Kayaking Delmarva 
Greetings –
How many miles, roughly, was that?
Kayaking is the perfect physical distancing activity in this time of distancing –
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Hi. The distance of this particular paddle was about 7 miles. You can do a paddle of any length you wish on Marshyhope. When the tide is high you have much better access to the various guts and offshoots. The stream where we ate lunch we had never been able to access before. Enjoy!
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