Delmarva Trails & Waterways offers trusted insights into regional exploration

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Laura Scharle, a tourism and marketing professional, transformed her passion for the outdoors into the extremely informative and user-friendly Delmarva Trails & Waterways website. Delmarva Trails & Waterways is as dynamic as the landscape it charts and somehow manages to make the wildest, untamed stretches of the Delmarva Peninsula accessible to everyone. While I did my best to describe this unique setting in Summer Triangle, words really don’t do it justice. I hope you’ll find this interview as inspiring as I did - and that it will encourage us all to get out there and to get to know this area better!

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*Please note that this interview has been edited for clarity and length.

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Elizabeth Webster: Laura, thank you so much for speaking with me today! What is your background? Have you always lived in the Delmarva area?

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Laura Scharle: I grew up on the Western Shore [of Maryland] near Baltimore, and that’s where I spent the first twenty years of my life. But I’ve been on the Eastern Shore for twenty years, and I started spending summers in college working at the beach …. I had an internship which turned into a seasonal job with Delaware (DE) State Parks, and then I … lived in St. Michaels/Easton for a while, so I really got to know the Mid-shore. And my husband has … also been on the shore for twenty years. When I met him, he was living in Chincoteague, so he introduced me to the Eastern Shore of Virgnia. Between these areas we’ve both worked and lived in, we’ve covered so much of Delmarva. I came to love it. And then … I set a goal in 2012 that I was going to kayak around the whole peninsula. I did it in little chunks of eight-to-twelve mile stretches - and it took me eleven years, but I finished in 2023. So it was about 600 miles, and then people would [asks me about paddling certain sections]. My background with working for DE State Parks is in interpretation, education, and outdoor recreation, so all those things intersected to me creating this website.

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The website started during the pandemic when I was stuck at home with a very busy four-year-old, while my husband was going to work every day. So, we got out and explored so many places I didn’t even know existed prior to that. My friends were asking me questions [as to where they should go], and I realized I … was a trusted resource.

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EW: One of my favorite parts of your website is the “Outdoor Inspiration Blog” with all of these different ideas from different perspectives of what you can do. If you have someone with no background in anything remotely outdoorsy, how can they get started? Where do they begin?

LS: The “Outdoor Inspiration Blog” is a great one. It’s for people who don’t want to do a deep dive search, that are [more] surface level. And then there’s also a “Helpful Tips” section [with ideas such as] being safe during hunting season when you’re out hiking; what parks and public lands charge entrance fees; can you get an annual pass to visit; tips for visiting. So, between the blog and the “Helpful Tips” section, that would be a great place to get started for someone new.

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EW: I’m also really inspired by your passion for paddling, and I was also looking at your “laura paddles delmarva” website. What have you learned about the region by exploring it that way?

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LS: There are some great books out there … but I still feel like they scratch the surface and that’s it. So, when I got out forcing myself to paddle new sections every time, it forced … me to go to places that are not in those books. [I realized] that if you drive Route 50 or Route 13 or Coastal Highway, you’re missing everything. You’re missing everything that makes Delmarva, Delmarva. If you stick to those resort towns, you’re missing out. I’ve paddled areas where I’m … the only human for a couple miles probably, and that’s a really powerful feeling. It clears my head. It’s good for my mental health …. When I’m paddling a waterway and there’s no human sounds and there’s no development, I feel more connected with generations before me …. I was never a history buff as a kid, but I am now. Now, I want to know what this place was like a hundred years, a thousand years ago.

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EW: I think when people think of Delmarva, they immediately think of water and waterways. In terms of hiking and trails, what do you think is special about exploring the landscape inland?

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LS: It’s flat. It’s easy. It’s great for beginners. There are no big predators; there’s very few venomous snakes. The only thing is a copperhead - and I’ve yet to see a copperhead in Delmarva. It’s a great way to start out. The worst part is the tics …, but if you don’t go hiking in May or June, you’ll probably be okay. It’s a great place for beginners to start hiking.

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EW: In the work that you do, what role does volunteer work and conservation work play in your organization? How do you think being “out there” affects people’s inclination to do that work?

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LS: There tends to be this grey area: how much do I promote the hidden gems? That’s always the internal struggle that I have. I lean more towards promoting - but through a conservation lens. In my code, my three things are: (1) leave only footprints and take all your trash; (2) stay on the designated trails and don’t go venturing off, and (3) if the parking area is full, it’s full for a reason. It means that the established carrying capacity for that trail has been reached. Come back when it’s not as busy. Those are my three things that I try to weave into the occasional blog post, and social media posts. Because I really feel that the more we promote, the more people will visit and the more people will develop connections with the public lands and waterways. In turn, they’ll eventually support [these areas] when they’re being threatened, and the more they’ll advocate … for protections …. I have a whole advocacy page on the website giving people ideas as to where they could go volunteer.

 

EW: The “Events Calendar” is amazing and rich with daily activities. Do you have any personal favorites that you can recommend?

 

LS: I don’t work for DE State Parks anymore, but they do an amazing job with their interpretive program. They have something for everyone. They’re accessible. They’re free. They have full-time education people in their park system - that’s pretty rare for a park system, so when they’re creating these events and programs, they do a really great job. That being said, Maryland State Parks does a Paddlefest at Janes Island that is so much fun. It’s totally free. It’s a big kayaking weekend - they have kids’ activities, live music, a poker run where you collect cards as you go around the water trails. It’s a really fun event, and I highly recommend it.

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EW: As the summer is winding down, what do you look forward to in terms of accessing trails and waterways in the off-season? Do you notice a difference?

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LS: Oh, yes. September is my favorite month for paddling because it’s still beautiful, [but] there’s not as much traffic and there’s not as many people around. I can feel it now. I notice the insects are changing, the sounds of the insects are coming for fall, and it makes me nostalgic for being a kid. But it also just reminds me that the best paddling season is almost here. September and early October is my favorite paddling season, and then once we get to November, that’s when it gets cold enough that the insect populations are down a little bit and going hiking is much more comfortable. Fall foliage peaks in November here …. It’s a really enjoyable time.

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Many thanks to Laura Scharle for her thoughtful responses! Be sure to check out Delmarva Trails & Waterways for more information or to contact Laura directly. I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about this beautiful landscape as much as I have!