Trap Pond State Park

[Warren Mary Ellen]

This was a great place to camp this weekend and we just wish it was closer to home. It made for a good base to explore Delaware and you just as easily explore the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia from here too. If this weekend is indication, it is mostly locals camping there with their families but if you could go during the week, you would have the place mostly to yourself.

The campground has four loops. We camped on Loop A in Site 31 which put us right next to the bathhouse. Loop D is the loop with pull through sites which were roomier and if you go on the one side of Loop D, you would have nobody camping behind you. In Loops A, B, C you back up to the site behind you. The exception to this would be the part of Loop A that backs up to the woods and the pond. If end back here, I would get a site either on this part of Loop A or somewhere on Loop D. There a few sites on each Loop at one end or the other that do not have someone behind you. The one Con we found is there is nothing to block you from your next door neighbor nor the site behind you in most cases. This would not keep from going back, like I said this is the only Con we found. Between Loop A & B is a very nice playground with a massive shelter with picnic tables under ceiling fans. Loops A & B have a bathroom/showers. Loop C has a bathroom/showers and if you are on Loop D, you would come to this bathroom/shower. There are paths bordered by wooden rail fencing to allow you to pass from one Loop to the other. The canopy of the mixed hardwood/pine trees provide a lot of shade. Not a lot of understory, hence the lack of privacy I mentioned already.

There are several piers or docks along Trap Pond that you can fish from, launch a kayak/canoe. or enjoy the view of the lake. There are benches provided to sit on. There are a few small cabins and yurts if you are meeting up with noncamping companions. Sites have electricity and water at them. The electrical boxes light up at night. Standard picnic table and fire ring with grill attached are at each site too. Bathrooms have showers and I saw a sign directing you to laundry but I never saw it, but apparently it is there.

At the entrance to the campground area is the office where you check in which is also the camp store and it is open until 10:00 pm. Ice - $3 for a 7 lb bag or you can drive 10 minutes to Laurel and the same bag is $2.39. Firewood is available at the store too. Free Bikes are there for you to ride the trails. You get what you pay for here as they are not great bikes but the trails are nearly flat and even if you have not ridden in years you can do this. The Bob Trail is a 4.5 mile long trail that circles the park. You ought to at least walk or ride one of their bikes to the point where the bridge crosses the Bald Cypress Swamp. There is a beaver dam not far from the bridge. You do not need a mountain bike to ride these, so if you carry bikes with you on your camping trip, your bike should work. The only bike I would not use, would be a road bike unless you enjoy flat tires.

On the opposite side of the lake is the day use area, where you can rent kayaks, canoes. At both the campground and the Day use area, there are also Corn Hole games, horse shoe pits and ladder ball for you to check out. The Day use area has three large covered pavilions if you needed it. There is also one near the campground too. I got the impression some of the Tearjerker groups from the are must have used this campground for gatherings in the past possibly, as we kept getting asked if we belonged. Picnic tables were all over the place on the Day use area in a shady area near the Pond.

One thing we did in the park that was one of the highlights of our trip was take a Ranger led Kayak trip. For $15 you got one of their kayaks and the ranger led you across the 90 acre pond. Eventually, you enter the Terrapin Canoe into the Bald Cypress Swamp. On the trip you see plenty of Bald cypress trees and their knees, yes these trees have knees. There is no swimming in the lake due to an algae bloom but back in the swamp the tannins from the trees keep the bloom away and the water is a very dark brown. We saw a lot of different birds in there and some wild flowers still blooming. Very quiet in there and you get back to the bridge I mentioned you would cross on the Bob trail. The Beaver dam stops just short of the bridge.

The surrounding area is mostly farmland. In July, there are a lot of fresh produce for sale. We went into Laurel and ate Abbott's Grill where we had really good crab cakes. Bethany Beach is a nice beach community about a 40 minute drive away. The people in Delaware and all over the Delmarva peninsula were super nice to us as well. This was a nice hidden gem that I found with a Google search once we knew we wanted to be in this area along with reviews I found online about.