During the summer months, white-tailed deer can be seen eating along the creek in the early morning or late afternoon. Deer are good swimmers and can run at up to 30 miles per hour. A river otter may also be seen along the trail; river otters can weigh up to 10 pounds and grow up to 40 inches long. Mink and muskrat are both nocturnal, making them less likely to be encountered. The mink can grow to be up to two feet long and is a natural predator of the muskrat. Adult muskrat weigh 2 to 4 pounds and measure 1 1/2 to 2 feet long, and they are aggressive animals that often fight with families sharing a den. Human encroachment and pollution reduce the habitat available to these animals, and they are also endangered near roadways where they can be hit by passing cars. Steamboats also brought passengers from Baltimore to the beach resort at Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. During the earliest period of the 1900s, the Weems Line ran ships there, and the Dreamland brought visitors to the beach from 1909 until 1925. Several other steamers, including The State of Delaware, The Dixie, and the BayBelle line, served the resort from 1930 until the early 1940s, and the steamship era ended when the ships stopped operating during the early years of World War II.