I found Trap Pond to be a wonderful hidden gem in southern Delaware. I had seen occasional photos of the place online years before, and ever since I’d wanted to visit. Photography can be tricky though. It’s quite possible to photograph a boring little pond in a way that makes it look like some vast wilderness, and I was a little worried Trap Pond might be one of those places. When I first arrived, I have to admit I was somewhat disappointed. I started on the Island Trail, which took me through a gauntlet of trees and mosquitoes without offering many satisfying views.
I might not have given the Island Trail a fair chance, but I did hike a reasonable section of it, crossing small bridges and passing a few swampy areas. This photo shows one of the bald cypress trees visible from the trail. Trap Pond is near the northern limit of the natural range of bald cypress trees in the United States.
The best way to experience Trap Pond is to get out on the water. There are a few options, but my friend and I ended up renting a kayak. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been in one, but this was definitely a fun place to get back into it. From the launch point, Trap Pond looks like almost any other pond you’d find on the East Coast. Once you paddle farther out, however, you start seeing more bald cypress trees like the ones above, and eventually you can find yourself paddling right between them.
There’s also plenty of wildlife to see here. I spotted several species of birds, from herons to orioles. I didn’t see any bullfrogs, but I could definitely hear them. One thing that was hard to miss was all the red-bellied turtles. I saw at least half a dozen of them, and some were more shy than others. This pair above didn’t have much tolerance for my presence, but about 30 minutes later I spotted another turtle that seemed perfectly happy to be photographed.
By far the best experience was discovering the unexpected water trails around the outskirts of the pond. These trails took us through what felt like a maze of tiny channels, with yellow signs directing us along the way. No other kayakers were around, so we had the entire place to ourselves. Apparently you can follow these channels between different areas of the wetlands, but since we didn’t discover them until late in the day, we didn’t have enough time to explore as far as we wanted.
Here’s one of the first channels we entered where there was still a straight view ahead. Other sections had so many turns that it looked like we were approaching a dead end. We’d paddle right up toward the shoreline, only to find another yellow sign pointing us toward a narrow opening and showing us where to continue.
When our rental time was almost up, my friend and I reluctantly headed back out of the maze toward the main pond. Like always, it seemed to take less than half the time to get back out than it did on our journey in. This was only a half-day mini adventure, but it was definitely one of the best kayaking trips I’ve done. If you’re in the area, I’d highly recommend getting out on the water and exploring Trap Pond for yourself!
