On this route you will explore marshes and travel up and down the bay side. There are long expanses of sand to enjoy where you can stop for a while and rake for clams or float among the colorful windsurfers as they whisk by on a breezy day. The marshes and beach are perfect places to observe a plethora of shorebirds and waterfowl. The views and scenery are splendid.

The waters of Cedar Creek spill into Delaware Bay at a place called Mispillion Light. It shares a common quality, along with Broadkill, Old Mill, and Prime Hook, of remoteness, minimal development, and a variety of distracting scenery. The marshes are exceptionally pleasant to explore as the grass is relatively short, allowing good views from the boat. To begin, the creek demands some tight maneuvering around sharp turns and under low-hanging limbs and deadfall to reach open water. Before long, it all opens up to a wide marsh lined by distant pine forest with a few summer homes scattered. While the surrounding scenery is spread way out, the creek is usually narrow. The best take-out is a public boat ramp about a quarter mile below Route 36 on the left.

Mantua Creek is a slow moving tidal tributary of the Delaware River that offers paddlers some nice wilderness scenery in an otherwise urban area. Floating the creek also provides good birdwatching opportunity. Paddling conditions are best when launching during high tide. The one-way trip ends at the Riverwinds access site which is located on the Delaware River so watch out for large boat traffic when paddling the last part of the trip on the large river channel.

The Murderkill River is very similar to the St. Jones River, each entering the Delaware Bay about a half mile apart at Bowers Beach. This route begins at Killen Pond, one of the prettiest and least developed ponds in Delaware that is well worth exploring. Approaching Frederica, the marsh completely inherits the river for good. Reed grass is most of what you will see, the section is fairly undisturbed, and opportunities for bird-watching are abundant.

The waters of the Mispillion River spill into Delaware Bay at a place called Mispillion Light. It shares a common quality, along with Broadkill, Old Mill, and Prime Hook, of remoteness, minimal development, and a variety of distracting scenery. The marshes are exceptionally pleasant to explore as the grass is relatively short, allowing good views from the boat. Leaving from a public launching area behind the town police station, the first few miles pass by relatively high, wooded banks. Later the stream loses itself in the wide, unspoled marshes and ends at Mispillion Light.

From Cape Henlopen State Park, paddle along the sand dunes and a lovely stretch of beach where rock waves provide great serenity. The large expanse of open dunes allows for beautiful views and scenery. A great variety and large numbers of shorebirds can be seen as well as other wildlife. At the Roosevelt Inlet you will find the partially sunken wreck of a wooden steamship.

Wander through the saltwater marshes on Indian River Bay and you will be immersed in the abundant wildlife of the Bay, including the ever-present seagulls, egrets, and herons above and crabs beneath the surface. Holts Landing State Park offers tours in this area going among Vines Creek, Pepper Creek, and Blackwater Creek. Wind on the open water can make paddling difficult.

The Smyrna River is a tidal river very similar to the Leispic River. The first mile and a half below Smyrna Landing runs past high, wooded banks that appear to be man-made, probably dredge spoil from years past. But once beyond Mill Creek, this becomes a beautiful marsh tour. The limited perspective of a canoe hurts here as the height of the riverside reeds often denies the paddler of an appreciation of the beauty and vastness of the wetlands that lie beyond. There is no access at the mouth, so you can either double back to Route 9 or, if the wind and tide are with you, head three and a half miles down the bay to the town park at Woodland Beach.

The Leipsic River is a tidal river very similar to the Smyrna River. Put in at the Garrison Lake Fishing Access Area. The first part of this run is very pretty, leading you first through swamps and then through a narrow marsh. Below Route 9, the river winds through the heart of a vast, beautiful marshland of which little is visible because of the tall reeds. It is still pretty though, and because it flows through Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, the lower part of this river is one of the few stretches in southern Delaware where you do not encounter duck blinds on every corner. Access to the mouth is nonexistent so you can either double all the way back to Route 9 or paddler nearly five miles down the bay to the boat ramp at Port Mahon.

On the Little Assawoman Bay, saltwater marsh forms the friges of the Bay. Within its grasses, birdwatchers may identify many species of waterfowl including osprey, herons, and bald eagles. Fenwick Island State Park forms the eastern edge of the bay where there is a large concrete observation tower. Blue Crabs are abundant and many other forms of wildlife may be found.