Ocean City Nature Trail to Receive Makeover

Both rugged and scenic, Crook Horn Creek Trail is a place for nature lovers to savor Ocean City’s bayside beauty in the south end of the island.

Bette McCarron and her late husband, Jack, would help to keep the trail looking nice and neat by removing litter, tires and even hypodermic needles each spring.

“We would collect 15 to 25 bags of trash,” said McCarron, who has lived on Dory Drive, close to the trail, for 35 years.

Ocean City officials assured McCarron and other residents during a community meeting Saturday that Crook Horn Creek Trail will look even nicer with an estimated $400,000 makeover scheduled for next fall or winter.

The project will include placing a top layer of fine gravel along the entire length of the three-quarter-mile trail to even out the pathway and fill in the ruts and puddles that are there now.

“We want to make it nice. We want to clean it up,” City Business Administrator George Savastano told the nearly 50 residents who attended the community meeting at the American Legion Post 525 headquarters for a presentation on the project.

    The trail offers panoramic views of the surrounding wetlands in the south end of Ocean City.
  

As part of the project, trash cans will be placed along the trail to help maintain its appearance. The city’s Public Works Department will also collect trash that accumulates along the pathway to keep the trail clean, city officials pledged.

“It would be good if we could keep it clean,” McCarron told city officials while joining with other residents during the meeting in stressing the need to remove any trash.

A walk along the Crook Horn Creek Trail reveals the ghostly remnants of an old railroad line, a thicket of tall cedar trees and striking views of the bayside wetlands that unfold for miles in the south end of Ocean City.

The trail actually is an old railroad service road that runs parallel to the abandoned train tracks at the bay end of 51st Street and extends past 52nd Street. Dotted with rain puddles, the badly rutted dirt road has been closed to traffic for years and now serves as a pathway for hikers, nature lovers, anglers and bicyclists.

Ocean City once had much bigger plans to elevate the trail to create a berm that would have served as a natural-looking flood barrier to protect the surrounding neighborhoods. But the city backed off after residents raised concerns about the possible environmental damage to the wetlands and wildlife caused by a berm.

Now, the city has settled on a modest plan to simply cover the trail with a layer of fine gravel to improve its appearance. The trail will not be elevated. The project will not disturb the abandoned railroad tracks, the wetlands or any trees or vegetation, officials said.

“It’s not a berm. That is the most important part,” said Jeff Richter, director of engineering for ACT Engineers Inc., the city’s environmental consultant on the project.

    Vehicles are no longer allowed to drive on the trail. This gate blocks access at the end of 51st Street.
  

Johnie “Mac” MacNorton, a resident of Dory Drive, urged his fellow neighbors not to oppose the latest opportunity to improve the trail. He noted that local opposition killed plans for a bike path along Haven Avenue seven years ago, and he didn’t want the neighborhood to “make the same mistake twice.”

“We have an opportunity here. If we turn this down, shame on us,” MacNorton said.

However, the improvement project for the Crook Horn Creek Trail seemed to be well-received. Some of the residents thanked city officials for the project at the end of the meeting.

“We’re really pleased to present this project to you,” said Junetta Dix, director of environmental services for ACT Engineers.

Brigantine Avenue resident Thomas Murphy, though, asked for more specifics about the project during the meeting.

“It’s very vague and unclear what they want to do. The engineering company should have a more definite plan,” Murphy said in an interview afterward.

Murphy’s home overlooks Crook Horn Creek Trail and he enjoys the panoramic views of the wetlands. Murphy took a walk on the trail after attending the community meeting. Among his questions, he wants to know how the trail’s new gravel surface will be maintained.

“This stuff washes away,” he said, looking at the trail’s rutted surface.

    The remnants of an abandoned railroad track are visible along the trail.
  

Crook Horn Creek Trail extends beyond 51st Street to the end of 52nd Street past Dory Drive. The flood-prone area abuts a huge expanse of wetlands stretching for miles out to the Intracoastal Waterway.

A state grant will cover the entire cost of the improvement project, which will also include placing benches along the trail to create “rest stops” for anyone walking on the pathway.

The trail will remain closed to vehicle traffic as part of the project. No new parking is planned, either.

Richter said the trail should retain its relatively quiet atmosphere after the project is completed.

“We are not anticipating it would be popular like the Boardwalk with hundreds of people,” Richter told the residents at the meeting.

City Councilman Sean Barnes, who attended the meeting, said the trail will remain a “beautiful, pristine area” for nature lovers.

“This is a nice eco-tourism destination. It’s a jewel of Ocean City. I’m glad we’re preserving it,” Barnes said.

    City Councilman Sean Barnes, right, looks at aerial photos of Crook Horn Creek Trail with Clipper Drive resident Michael Potts during the meeting.