Look! Is that a gator over there? It’s not hard to imagine an alligator or even a swamp monster in the murky cypress swamps at Trap Pond State Park in Laurel, DE. Post a photo and ask friends to guess where you are, and Delaware won’t even be in their top ten guesses. It’s a bit of a ways from the beaches, but worth it to get to another world.
Once there, you’ll find lots to do, starting with nine miles of trails…on water. Rent a canoe or kayak and go exploring. Landlubbers can enjoy twelve miles of trails on land. Disc golf, playgrounds, pavilions, and a picnic area provide more opportunities for fun. Those with a fishing license can go after pickerel, crappie, bluegills, catfish, American eel, and largemouth bass.
But the key attraction is that Trap Pond is home to the northern-most naturally occurring stand of bald cypress trees in the country. (They’re the trees that send up knobby knees and can grow right in the water.) Bald cypresses are slow-growing, long-lived trees that can reach up to 600 years in age.
But there’s more. With more than 3,500 acres, the park offers four freshwater ponds, hundreds of acres of woodlands, and both cypress and hardwood swamps. With all those natural features, Trap Pond supports abundant wildlife (although sadly, no alligators), including a wide variety of breeding, migrating, and wintering birds (177 species have been spotted). The Baldcypress Nature Center offers exhibits and interpretive programs about the park’s natural and cultural history.
Trap Pond State Park is open year-round, 8 a.m. to sunset. Like any Delaware State Park, the entrance fee is $4/car with DE plates and $8/car for out-of-state vehicles.
