8 Most Scenic Small Towns In Delaware For Nature Lovers
Delaware, known as the First State, is rich in history, culture, and especially natural beauty. It is one of the smallest states in the country, yet it has become renowned for being home to miles upon miles of Atlantic coastline, beautiful bayfront and riverfront towns, and a ton of nature preserves. The state contains a unique mix of saltwater and freshwater fish and waterfowl, as well as marshlands and waterways. This creates a diverse array of animals, plant life, and scenery for any tourist who loves outdoor excursions.
Newark
The city of Newark is the perfect place for someone who wants to live in or visit a city with a big downtown and also enjoy abundant green spaces. Only 10 minutes from the center of downtown is Rittenhouse Park, a city park which has the usual amenities you would expect, like a playground and a shelter with picnic tables. However, it is unique for being home to two miles of hiking trails, which wind around and across Christiana Creek. Just a few minutes farther north, you will find the Newark Reservoir, a beautiful waterfront with an evenly paved trail all the way around its perimeter, which is about two miles long.
Right outside the city, Middle Run Valley Natural Area is an 850-acre nature park with more than 10 miles of hiking and biking trails despite being smack in the middle of several residential areas. It is also notable for being one of the state's primary spots for bird-watching, even being home to the headquarters of the Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research Center. White Clay Creek State Park is also within a 15-minute drive of downtown. This park offers even more recreational opportunities, such as fishing in its namesake creek, playing disc golf on its designated course, or mountain biking on one of its many trails of various difficulty levels.
Greenville
Greenville is home to around 3,000 people in the greater Wilmington area, giving it a small-town feel while still being very close to an urban center. You may not think a place like this would be a nature lover's dream, but you would be pleasantly surprised. The drive into the area is scenic all on its own, if you take the Brandywine Valley Scenic Byway. This route winds through the beautiful rolling hills and valleys of the unique Delaware landscape, and it passes several historic attractions. The Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library's Enchanted Woods is a family-friendly, three-acre area that has been designed to look like it was built by real faeries centuries before, complete with a faerie cottage with a thatched roof.
There are two state parks within the vicinity of Greenville as well. Brandywine Creek State Park, which is popular for the calm and clean water of Brandywine Creek, is a great place for fishing, canoeing, or kayaking. It has a few uncharacteristically big hills for the state, making it a popular sledding and cross-country skiing destination in the winter. The other, Alapocas Run State Park, is home to America's largest Paw Paw tree, as well as the state of Delaware's only publicly accessible climbing wall. The latter also hosts live music every second Friday at the park's Blue Ball Barn, June through October.
Seaford
Nestled along the Nanticoke River, the location of this town is scenic in itself. Seaford is small, with only about 8,700 residents, and it has a strong community feeling complete with warm hospitality toward visitors. The town's riverfront green connects to multiple walking trails that weave through downtown and along the water. These include the Seaford Riverfront Trail, a paved waterfront path, as well as a two-mile trail that winds through Hooper's Landing Golf Course. A third trail, a quarter-mile-long, winds through Soroptimist Park right downtown and provides beautiful views of Williams Pond, even leading to several boat docks for fishing.
To find a slightly more difficult hiking trail, you can drive a few miles outside of town to Chapel Branch Nature Area, which has more than four miles of trails through wooded areas that lead to the Chapel Branch tributary. Seaford is also only a 20-minute drive from Trap Pond State Park, where you can camp or hike around the beautiful cypress swamp, a unique natural feature of southwestern Delaware. Pontoons and paddleboats are allowed on Trap Pond as well for a faster-paced experience.
Smyrna
Smyrna is a town near the metropolitan areas of Dover and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and within close driving distance of the Delaware Bay coast. Despite being near so many desirable areas, Smyrna maintains its close-knit feel, with just over 13,000 friendly residents. It is a very pretty and historic place, and being near big cities does not stop it from being another scenic stop on this list.
Only five minutes outside the walkable downtown is Lake Como, a stunning recreational lake stretching over 50 acres. It is known as a very popular swimming spot and is also known to be great for stand-up paddleboarding due to the consistent calmness of its waters. Just north of Smyrna is Blackbird State Forest, a fairly large park that covers a diverse landscape including both wetlands and ancient forests. This park boasts a massive trail system that spans over 40 miles and even includes a rare wheelchair-accessible nature trail, called the Tybout Tract.
Being only 15 minutes from the coast, nature lovers cannot miss a visit to Woodland Beach and its accompanying Wildlife Area, a 6,000-acre tract of tidal marshland focused on wildlife management and recreation. It is a popular area for saltwater fishing, hunting, and birdwatching. Speaking of birds, nearby Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge is a hot spot for migratory birds, including both shorebirds like avocets and black-necked stilts, and waterfowl like northern pintails and snow geese.
Delaware City
A riverfront town with a long military history, Delaware City is home to the historically significant and allegedly haunted Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River. It is a great place for learning, tax-free shopping, and enjoying nature. Near downtown, Dragon Run Park is a five-acre city park with hiking trails that wind through a forest and alongside Dragon Creek, making it both beautiful and accessible. Also right by the heart of the city is Fort DuPont State Park, with a much larger space of more than 300 acres, boasting waterfront scenes of both the Delaware River and the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal on its stunning Riverview Trail.
A bit farther out, but less than a 15-minute drive away, Lums Pond State Park is another perfect place for hiking, biking, kayaking, or paddling. The park also offers unique attractions like Go Ape Zipline Adventure Park and Whale Wallow Nature Center. If you cross the Canal just past Delaware City's south side, you will find Augustine Wildlife Area, a huge tract of freshwater wetlands ideal for hiking and observing migratory birds, deer, or otters.
Millsboro
Millsboro sits along the Indian River, a smaller but certainly not less beautiful waterfront. It is a quiet town close enough to the Delaware coastline to have plenty of recreational things to do within driving distance, and it has things to offer right at home as well. Millsboro Pond, formed by the city dam and the Indian River, is a wonderful spot for fishing with its calm waters, which allow kayaks, canoes, and even small motorboats on its surface. Ten minutes south, the Delaware Botanic Gardens at Pepper Creek is a great place to find more walking trails and see some native Delaware plants like trees, ferns, and stunning flowers, with over 12 acres to explore.
There are a few state parks around Millsboro as well, including Redden State Forest, which is home to a historic lodge and offers hunting, fishing, and education opportunities. Another, Holts Landing State Park, is expansive with over 200 acres to explore and the Indian River Bay to swim and boat in. It also has a disability-accessible trail that is over a mile long, the Seahawk Trail, which goes through marshland highly populated with herons and osprey.
Selbyville
Selbyville is centrally located, within a short drive of Delaware's biggest cities, Atlantic coastlines, and borders with other states, namely Maryland and Pennsylvania. It is also close to several unique outdoor opportunities, one of which is the Great Cypress Swamp, a huge forested freshwater swamp flush with wildlife, which also happens to be the biggest contiguous forest in the state.
Speaking of wildlife, the Assawoman Wildlife Area is located nearby on the Assawoman Bay. It is a quiet, peaceful, and incredibly scenic area that is good for observing wildlife and recreating, offering areas for hiking, kayaking, fishing, and even crabbing. The smaller northern part of the bay, aptly named Assawoman Recreation Area, is located in Fenwick Island State Park, a beachfront nature lover's dream. You can use the bay recreationally for watersports, even sailing, or hang out on the picturesque sandy coast of Fenwick Island.
Lewes
Lewes is located at the southernmost point of the Delaware Bay. There is so much amazing scenery to be witnessed in the area of this little beach town. Cape Henlopen State Park, home of multiple attractions including Fort Miles and the Great Dune, is within walking distance of the Lewes downtown strip. It boasts Atlantic water beaches, bike paths, rentals, and The Point, the spot where the Delaware Bay meets the ocean, displaying some of the most incredible sunsets on the East Coast.
Lewes is near so many nature preserves, it is hard to include them all. Some are Beach Plum Island Nature Preserve, which is actually in the aforementioned state park, the Edward H McCabe Preserve, the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, and the Great Marsh Preserve. Beach Plum is an important habitat for one of Delaware's most common coastal residents, the horseshoe crabs, and is the only beachfront preserved wildlife area in the state's system of parks. The Edward H McCabe Preserve is great for birdwatching, and even better for hiking while doing so, especially along its noteworthy Greenway Trail.
In Conclusion
No matter what your affinity is when it comes to nature, Delaware has a town that can offer it to you. Since the state is so small, you are guaranteed to be near some of the most scenic and exciting outdoor adventures when you stay in any of the towns on this list. If you like kayaking, canoeing, and paddleboating, head to the Nanticoke River or Assawoman Bay. If you love hiking or mountain biking, choose any number of the state parks on this list, such as White Clay Creek or Fort DuPont. You can even visit Woodland Beach or Cape Henlopen to enjoy the coast! For nature lovers, Delaware simply cannot be passed up.
