History

In 2015, both Laurel, Delaware, and Snow Hill, Maryland began meeting with citizens, businesses, government agencies and non-profit organizations to search for new strategies for building low-impact tourism programs around paddling, cycling, birding, and heritage. A natural partnership was born during workshops where Snow Hill provided advice to Laurel, and Laurel provided advice to Snow Hill. Both towns are similar in their position on beautiful waterways, easy access to amazing outdoor recreation opportunities, proximity to excellent state parks, and the need for economic development through low-impact tourism.

The inaugural Delmarva Paddling Weekend was to be held September 30 – October 2, 2016, as the first joint effort between the two towns. Unfortunately, torrential rains dropped 11+ inches of water on mid-Delmarva, and regional flooding around Laurel and Snow Hill caused the event to be canceled. Autumn paddling events were hosted in 2017, and more have been scheduled for 2018.