Trap Pond State Park

Geobox Protected Area
name = Trap Pond State Park
native_name =
other_name =
other_name1 =
category_local = Delaware State Park
category_iucn =


image_caption =
etymology_type = Named for
etymology = Trap Pond
country = United States
state = Delaware
region_type = County
region = Sussex
district_type =
district =
city =
location =
lat_d = 38
lat_m = 31
lat_s = 30
lat_NS = N
long_d = 75
long_m = 27
long_s = 59
long_EW = W
elevation_imperial = 39
elevation_round = 1
area_unit = acre
area_imperial = 2109
area_round = 1
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established_type =
established = 1951
management_body = Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
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free_type = Nearest city
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map_caption = Location of Trap Pond State Park in Delaware
map_locator = Delaware
map_first =
website = [http://www.destateparks.com/tpsp/index.asp Trap Pond State Park]

Trap Pond State Park is a 2,109-acre (8.5 km²) state park located near Laurel, Delaware. it is one of the largest surviving fragments of what was once an extensive wetland in what is now southwestern Sussex County. The state park features an extensive patch of second-growth baldcypress trees.

Baldcypress ecosystem

The baldcypress is a wetland tree adapted to areas of calm, shallow standing water. It survives frosts but does not like extensive periods below freezing, and Trap Pond is the northernmost extensive natural stand of baldcypress on the Eastern seaboard of the United States.

Many birds flock to stands of baldcypress, including great blue herons, owls, warblers, and pileated woodpeckers. Birdwatchers can also see hummingbirds and bald eagles at Trap Pond in season.

Large specimens of American holly, the state tree of Delaware, can also be seen in the Trap Pond bottomland.

History of the park

The rot-resistant wood of Trap Pond's baldcypress trees was extensively harvested starting in the 1700s. The lumbermen extensively altered the morphology of the wetland, damming its outflow to create power for a small sawmill to cut the timbers. This dam helped to create what is now Trap Pond. The pond was enlarged in later years as nearby farmers laid down drainage tiles to de-water their wetlands for agriculture. After the old-growth cypress timber had been harvested, the pond and adjacent surviving wetlands were re-used as the drainage sump for the surrounding farmers of Sussex County.

In the 1930s, the federal Civilian Conservation Corps listed the pond as a place of recreation development. The Delaware legislature took over the land and named it as a state park in 1951.

Boating recreation

The partly-sheltered waters of Trap Pond (90 acres/0.4 km²) are now managed as a waterway for family recreation. A concessioner rents canoes, kayaks, rowboats, pedal boats, and surf bikes. In 2006, the park naturalist offered tours by pontoon boat. There is also a launching ramp for privately-owned shallow-draft vessels.

Fishing opportunities concentrate on panfish such as crappie and bluegill, with some bass and pickerel as well.

ee also

*Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

External links

* [http://www.destateparks.com/tpsp/tpsp.htm Delaware State Parks]